Mobile Suit Gundam: Gihren's Glory
by Kaiser Chris
Summary: The year is Universal Century 0067. The Spacenoids of the colonies live under the tyrannical rule of the Earth Federation. Everyday seeking justice and freedom from the oppression of gravity. One man will rise to the occasion and lead a great crusade under the banner of Zeon. That man is Gihren Zabi. Sieg Zeon! (Gihren Zabi SI)
1. Becoming Gihren Zabi

**December 18th, 2016, Houston Texas**

It was a cold Texas night as I made my way down the streets from the local Barnes and Noble bookstore. Today a huge sale had been going off since we were about one week from Christmas. While most people chose books or electronics such as Kindle fire with the new deals, I instead chose to purchase my very first Gunpla; a MS-06 Zaku II. For the past 15 years of my life I have been a huge Gundam fan since watching the premiere of the original series on Toonami. While it wasn't my favorite anime or series in general, it was definitely up there as Gundam was a very unique fun show in its own way with it's mix of real robot action and war drama. Sure the show had its problems (cough*Newtype OP Bullshit* cough) but it was still pretty good overall with the Universal Century being my favorite part of the Gundamverse. I was in particular a huge Zeon fanboy that had always rooted for the Zabi's to take over the world. Sure as my feddie friends pointed out Zeon may just be a bunch of Space Nazis, but who doesn't like to root for the Empire from time to time. Besides they were completely justified in their quest for independence anyways (though I would always be in hardcore denial when the whole Operation British debacle came up in the intense fan debates)

While I was currently thinking about this as I crossed the street, a wild car was currently making its way towards me as a drunk driver was apparently behind the wheel and had no intention of stopping. I quickly try to run for my life but by the time I make any decisive action it's too late as the car makes contact and sends me flying into the air, landing 5 meters on the ground from my current position. As I sit there lying on the ground with an immense amount of pain and blood flowing out, many thoughts start flowing through my mind. My life starts flashing before my eyes and I look back at everything I've done. Currently I was a 21-year old college student at A&M and had grown up in a nice family of 4, but throughout my life I never really achieved anything of importance. No successful sports careers, above average grades, a mild social life, just a plain old young adult who was about to die without contributing anything major to the world. _'I wish... I wish I could've lived in one of my favorite franchises. Like Gundam, yeah that would've been nice. Hell, maybe even Gihren Zabi, that would've made for an interesting ISOT.'_ These were my last coherent thoughts as my vision was starting to fade out, where I noticed that a large group had gathered around me with the Paramedics now just arriving. Strange last thoughts to be sure but then again it's not like I ever expected to go out like this. I finally lose consciousness as the paramedics drag me onto the ambulance, with my right arm firmly gripped onto the Zaku II the entire time.

 **January 4th, 0067, Side 3  
**  
After an unspecified amount of time I start to open my eyes and gain consciousness for what feels like the first time in days. _'Am I dead? Is this Heaven?'_ As I open my eyes I look around and confirm this isn't the case. Apparently I'm in a hospital bed in some unspecified room, the TV was blaring on while the light from the windows seemed to indicate that it was sometime around midday. _'Huh. So they did manage to save me in time. Well thank God for that.'_ Around a minute after waking up a nurse walked into my room and was shocked at my appearance. She quickly ran out of the room shouting "Get the doctor and alert the waiting room! Gihren Zabi just woke up!"

 _'Gihren Zabi? The hell is this women high on? Maybe this is just one of my friends playing a sick prank on me.'_ After that weird little outburst I start to look around the room and start to notice some things that were definitely off. While I was no doctor or medical student (my younger sister was) I have gone to a hospital several times before. From those experiences I could tell that all of the medical equipment around me was not standard issue. For some reason it looked like some sort of weird cross between 1970's and retro sci-fi tech, kind of like the medical rooms that they had in old movies like Alien or Star Wars. Taking my mind off the room I focus my attention towards the TV but as I watch it I notice something is clearly wrong with it as well. As I flip through the channels none of them seem familiar with weird names such as _The Space Channel, RoboticsNetwork, Colonylife._ The one that most caught my attention was one broadcast on a channel called _ZNN_ where a panel of analysts where discussing what was apparently relations between the Earth Federation and the Republic of Munzo, something that only existed in UC Gundam. _'Okay something is definitely up here. Either I've been kidnapped by Gundam fans or John is playing one very sick prank on me.'_

My attention is brought to the hallway where the sounds of a large group of footsteps could be heard passing by as well as several voice who I've never heard before yet sounded familiar. "Please Mr. Zabi your son just woke up after a three day coma from his accident. As the patient's doctor I need to examine him first and make sure that everything is okay before he receives any visitors."

"Ah baloney, after waiting outside in the hospital for three days I will not stand aside patiently as my brother is waking up scared and confused."

"Calm down Dozle, I hardly doubt Gihren would be scared. Though as his father I must see his condition is first before you quacks decide to perform any tests." _'Gihren? Dozle? Okay seriously what the hell is going on in here?! Why the hell is everyone making Gundam references?!_

Upon hearing the voices I begin to scream in pain as a bunch of memories start flooding into my head that I had never had before. Memories of a larger and highly dysfunctional family of four brothers and a sister, exceedingly dark ones of manipulation and power grabbing, and what stood out the most was a particular fond one of myself staring at the moon from the window of a space ship. THE FREAKING MOON! With the sound of my voice in agony spreading the until-now unknown group of people bursted into my room where I was meet with one of the most bizarre images in my life.

Standing right in front of my was none other than one of the most infamous families in all of anime history, the Zabi's, albeit much younger. Standing front and center was the large obese man that was none other than the families Patriatch Degwin Zabi, though he looked much healthier still than his appearance in 0079. To his right was the immense figure that was unmistakably no one else than Dozle Zabi (Best Zabi), however his face seemed unscarred which indicated that Sasro's assassination had not happened yet. Speaking of, to Degwin's left was the man himself Sasro who looked exactly like his counterpart in Gundam: The Origins. Standing in the far left of the corner near the door was the redhead Lady Zabi that was Kycillia, on her face was a disturbing expression which was a mixture of shock and disappointment. _'Oh that's right we hate each other and she's one day going to shoot my head off with a large laser rifle. Great, just fucking great.'_ Finally behind Degwin was a young child with purple hair who I figured to be Garma, the wonderchild and only normal person of the Zabi clan.

Connecting the dots but still skeptical, I reach out desperately for a mirror right next to me and finally see my face for the first time since the accident. What I am confronted with is a major shock that along with my new memories and family before me prove my crazy theory correct. Staring at myself was a reflection of one of the most infamous antagonists in all of anime history. Gihren. Motherfucking. Zabi.

I look back towards the Zabi's, or I guess I should say my... family, with a look of pure shock as I am trying to comprehend how I can possibly be in this situation right now. What passes is a five second silence in the entire room until a now happy Garma rushes up to me and jumps on my bed giving an immense bear hug, "GIHREN!" As I hug back my new little brother, my mind wakes up from a state of shock and I know realize the situation I was in. I just became Gihren Zabi, future Prime Minister of the Princiaplity of Zeon and literally Space Hitler. _'Just Great.'_


	2. Kaiser Gihren meets Zeon Deikun

You know if I had known that at the moment of my death that God would've given me the power to become any character I want, I admit that Gundam wouldn't have been the first choice that would've come into my mind. There were lots of other interesting people who I could've turned into, Darth Vader, Reinhard von Lohengramm, Jack Ryan, etc. Though I'm at least glad that I hadn't done something stupid such as wish for a ASIOAF or 40K ISOT. I would have never survived those universes. All in all my current situation wasn't at all bad though. Yes one day I will become the most hated name in all of the Earth Sphere, though judging from Sasro's alive status I have at least a full decade to change everything for the better for Zeon. Will I still fight the One Year War and liberate space from the vile federation? Hell Yeah! While it's true that Zeon may have been the one to fire the first shots after the infamous three-second warning, the war was honestly inevitable as the situation between both Earth and Zeon was going to lead to war sooner or later. Zeon just declared war first so that it could still win with the advantage of the mobile suits. While this went entirely against my conservative American principles, I would have to turn Zeon into a fascist state and become an autocrat in order to make sure that Zeon would be the victors this go around. The main difference with my future policies though is that I won't start any mass genocide and will transition Side 3 into an democracy after the war, hopefully with Garma as its head. Speaking of I now turn my attention back to my new family who is right in front of me with Garma in my lap. Even without the looming threat of an intersolar war dealing with the Zabi's was going to be a tough enough challenge. We were like a real life version of the Lannisters, though without the incest. _'At least Kycillia would never fall for any of us.'_ I then turn my face towards Degwin.

"Deg- Father, Do you know how I came to end up in the hospital like this?" This was something I was very curious about as my new memories of Gihren had the events of my accident being played in a rather hazy way. So really everything that I was now remembering was rather new to my knowledge. One thing that Gundam never really was successful at was establishing the backstories of their characters with the effort only being small expository scenes. Char and Sayla were the only two that came close with The Origins and even then we didn't know alot of information such as why the hell Char went batshit insane and decided to drop a colony on the Earth. _'That's right Char, hopefully I can keep the little turd in line before he kills half my family. Then again Kycillia is responsible for the other half. While I killed my father. What a lovely little family we are.'_

"Really Gihren you don't remember what happened to you on New Years? How you got run over by a drunk after coming home from a party with Dozle?" _'Huh, it appears that it received the same fate in both worlds. At least Gihren survived this one.'_

"Wait party? Why was I at a party?" That wasn't something that sounded very Gihren-esque.

Upon mentioning this Dozle broke out into what I would call manly tears and looked extremely guilty. "I'm so sorry about this Gihren. I forced you to come along with me to the party because I felt like you needed to socialize more and make new friends. We left earlier in the night because you were bored, after we got out the car came running towards you and I was too late to save you."

"We all thought you might die Gihren, I was so scared," said Garma who was now clutching me tightly.

"Hey everyone it's okay no need to be upset now. Dozle you couldn't have known this would happen and I would probably have felt the same way in your position. Besides I'm fine now really, after all i get a few days of sleep and get to have an all you can eat buffet of wonderful hospital food." When I said this everyone in the family looked back at me as if I had been replaced by an alien space bat, _'which I might've been, still don't know why I'm here really.'_ I guess they expected Gihren to go into a full rant or get all pissy at Dozle, not be calm and make some jokes. _'Note to self, MUST improve family relations.'_

"By the way, whatever happened to that drunk that tried to run me over?" "Oh you don't need to worry about that Gihren. Father asked me to handle the situation so you won't be seeing that man ever again", Kycillia said with a sadistic and prideful grin. Her saying that sent some goosebumps down my back, as from both my memories from Gihren and the show perfectly suggested that her "taking care of the problem" probably involved some hitmen and a dumpster somewhere in Side 3. Can't say I feel sad for the guy though. Another drunk killed my original body so I wasn't going to be light on the issue of alcohol when I became Prime Minister.

Speaking of politics I turn to Sasro, "Hey Sasro, did anything happen while I was in a coma. A colony blow up? Relations with the federation go down the toilet?"

"No nothing really that exciting has gone on in the news besides the spread of info about your hit and run. Things within the party are calm right now due to everyone on recesss for Christmas, and the Federation hasn't really made any moves yet." _'Good. So I can begin work in peacetime long before the idea of mobile suits even enters anyone's head.'_

"By the way what date is it?" "January 4th, 0067." Interesting this meant that I had almost 12 years until the start of the One Year War. Twelve years to keep Zeon on the roughly right side of the moral compass, prepare them military and make sure the welfare of Side 3 was kept at very high standards when the eventual blockade happened. Several plans started forming in my head from several Zeonwanks I wrote in the past as well as some playthroughs of Gihren's Greed. This, this could work.

Suddenly the Doctor came into the room and looked very nervous from the appearance of every single member of the Zabis in the room, "Um Mr. Zabi, could you and your family please leave the room now that you got to speak with the patient? I need to do an evaluation right now and I can't exactly work with non-personnel in the room."

"Can't you see we're trying to have a family moment in here?!" yelled Dozle.

"I don't want to go! I want to stay with Gihren, it's the first time I've seen him in days and I can't leave his side." said Garma. I then smiled at my brothers comments. While we may be the worst portrait for your dream family at least you could always count on Garma and Dozle at the end of the day.

"It's alright guys. Doc needs to do his work and it wouldn't be best with you here watching everything. It's not like I'm going to leave any time soon so you can come back at a later time whenever you feel like it."

"Well you heard the doctor, Gihren's alright so no need to stay here. Time to go." ' _Thanks Kycillia, your just a real charmer now aren't you.'  
_  
The Zabi's start to leave one by one with Garma and Dozle providing the longest goodbyes. Degwin is the last one out the door but before he leaves I ask him a request. "Father." "Yes Gihren? "Could you bring me some history books the next time you visit? Preferably on the Universal Century and the Cold War era."

"Why do you want books on that?" Degwin asks slightly puzzled. "I need something to stimulate my brain while I'm in the hospital, might as well get some more knowledge in the process." In truth I was dying to know what happened post 1979 in the UCverse. I love Tomino's work but once again he was absolutely lazy when it came to writing the lore besides the basics.

"Sure Gihren." With that final answer the future Sovereign of Zeon walks out the door.

 **January 11th, 0067**

For the past week I've been in the hospital undergoing various therapy and treatment from the doctors. While something like this would've taken months in my time, the fact that we had advanced space medical technology accelerated the process quickly to the point where I only walked with a slight limp today and would be out of the hospital tomorrow. During that time I've had visits from friends, well mostly political allies, sadly Gihren never developed any true friendships in his life; and multiple visits from my family. Dozle and Garma where the ones who made the most visits daily where Dozle would come to escort Garma after school and they would both tell me of their days with Dozle's military exploits and Garma's lessons that day. Both Degwin and Sasro made less frequent visits but they still checked on my condition on a regular basis. Kycillia as expected, was the one who payed the least amount of attention as she stopped coming after the first day since in her opinion there was no need to come unless something drastic changed in my condition. Yeah making my new younger sister like me was definitely on top of my list. I had trouble with my real life sibling before in that she could be greatly annoying at times though we still had common interests and kept to ourselves. At least I didn't have to worry about her shooting me at the end of a war.

As of right now I was currently on my bed reading the history textbooks that Degwin kept his promise on. It turned out that history had largely diverged during and after the Reagan administration in a great many ways. Apparently the biggest change came with the successful completion of the Star Wars Program in the 80's. Something that was logistically impossible but could've happened according to anime logic. In the 90's there was apparently a Third World War as the end of the Soviet Union went something similar to "Crisis in the Kremlin" with China also falling apart due to the democracy movement. America was able to successfully come out of that one as Star Wars protected the west while it got to bring down nuclear hellfire on Asia, starting the environmental breakdown that became such a crisis in the OYW-era. But to be perfectly honest I don't see what the big fuss is about earth's environment. It looked fine in the anime and the reason it did is because of that exact reason, nothing too bad happened. In fact it really was modern day Earth with a slightly worse pollution setting that would've been one or two decades ahead in terms of pollution and other factors such as deforestation and desertification. Hell it's getting worse but not so bad that Char had to drop a fucking meteor and start a nuclear winter. But anyways I'm digressing, back to the real history. So in 1999 after the Third World War and basically the Second and Third world going to complete shit, the Earth Federation was formed from the United Nations to bring peace to the world and solve its problems. At first everything went well with peace and economic prosperity coming back to the planet while space colonization was beginning to start. But the problem was that the Earth Federation became too centralized and became a total one world government with the start of the Universal Century in 001 (2045). After that everything goes the same as the lore. Laplace's box still happens (don't worry, I intend to abuse that fully in the upcoming war), the forced immigration to the sides came about, Zeon Zum Deikun became Space Hippie Jesus and started his Contolist movement on side 3, the Republic of Munzo was founded and now we were at this current situation.

Speak of the devil, as I'm currently reading a book on Lunar development, a knock is on my door and when I look up to see who enters it's nothing more than the founder of Zeon himself, Zeon Zum Deikun. Now many people may wonder what my personal opinion of Deikun was. Well in my old life I had never thought much of the man as he was hardly mentioned beyond flashbacks of Char and Sayla's lives. From what I did read or watch from viewpoints of the other characters was that he was an idealistic man who would've been unprepared to lead Zeon into its necessary steps for the One Year War. With Gihren's memories however, I had a personal perspective of the man. Personally, I now thought of him as a simple fool who got lucky in his life. With all of Gihren's memories I now learned fully of the contents of Contolism, and frankly it was a bullshit philosophy that was nothing but hippie nonsense about how we would all reach enlightenment in space and that humanities true home was in the colonies, even though Earth is our homeworld and there are literally millions of other planets that we can settle upon. If it weren't for the development of Newtypes that was proved later on in the show then he would've been nothing but a lunatic. It wasn't exactly helpful that the man would act irrationally in times of stress as the opening of the first episode of Origins proved. Honestly if it weren't for his charisma and apparent cult of personality my father would've taken charge decades ago and make the Principality of Degwin. Still at least his character is not a asshole so I could respect his efforts for peace somewhat. Also since I currently had a job in the government as Secretary of Colonial Development (yeah I might be young but Sasro is already in charge of Party Propaganda at the age of 20, and Kycillia is in charge of State Security at the age of 12!), I couldn't exactly be rude to the guy.

"Prime Minister! What an unexpected surprise. I would've thought that you would be too busy at work to visit me." "

Oh nonsense Gihren, what type of friend to your father would I be if I didn't visit his injured son and one of my best workers in the hospital?" _'I wouldn't exactly call us the best of friends Deikun. Either I or Degwin may or may not have caused your death in the future.'_ "I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier but the Federation has been causing a mess as Prime Minister Jorge Marcenas earlier announced that the colonies would not receive any form of colonial autonomy. Since then I've been trying to deal with worried Side 3 politicians on one side and greedy Earthnoid representatives on the other."

"Those Terran bastards. We're practically the lifeblood of the Federation so they should at least give us some form of self rule."

"Terran, Gihren? You mean like the old Latin word?"

"Yeah why not? No offense Mr. Deikun but I'm not exactly a big fan of the whole Spacenoid and Earthnoid terms. They don't really sound too serious to me and I like the usage of Terran and Spacer better."

"Hmm interesting. I'm sticking with Spacenoid but I think I'll be using the word Terran in my future speeches. Sound more alien and creates a better divide." ' _Well at least we got that dumb part of the original series out of the way. Oh look. I've already caused my first divergence, Drunkrobot would be proud.'_ "Anyways how have you been doing Gihren?"

"Fine relatively speaking sir. I'm all healed up so I should be heading back home tomorrow. I wished to get payback to the bastard who did this but apparently he was later found dead from an apparent overdose."

"I'm glad that your alright Gihren. Don't tell your father this but I've always bragged about how you're such a fine leader and how you'll one day become the Prime Minister of our great nation." Wait did Zeon Zum Deikun just compliment me, Gihren Zabi? Well someone break out the champagne because one of the craziest things in the universe happened.

"Sir, that's way too much of you, I simply do what I'm needed and what Zeon asks of me, both you and the country of course."

Deikun then laughs at that little remark, "No Gihren you underestimate yourself. I've seen you work patiently at everything you do and you write great speeches at every one of your events. I'm not going to last forever in this world sadly and Zeon could use men like you to lead us further into the wonders of space." Wow, never before had I heard something so heartfelt yet weirdly prophetic at the same time considering what would happen next year.

Getting uncomfortable with the current subject I then bring up a new topic that was close to Zeon, "Excuse my asking sir, but how are lady Astraia and the kids doing?"

"They're doing very well thanks for asking. I'm sorry they couldn't be here but I didn't want Casval or Artesia catching a sickness so they're at home with their mother watching them. As of right now Casval is receiving the top scores in his class while Artesia is loving everyday at Kindergarten. I am curious though of why you would ask of their condition."

"Well sir you see I've been wanting Garma to find a close friend for a while. He's very social with all his classmates but he's also lonely since they don't really interact with him too much due to him being my father's son. I was hoping that maybe him and Casval could hang out together since they're both the same age and would probably get along."

"That's a great idea actually. I have to admit Casval is a bit of a recluse these days, I'm sure that Garma would be more than enough to get him to interact with kids his own age." ' _Good, phase one complete.'_ While most people may have thought I was simply helping my baby brother's social life, in reality I was trying to prevent his assassination from the future Char. OTL Char himself said that Garma was a great friend and that the only reason he had to kill him was because of his status as a Zabi, which he later regretted very much. If I get the two now-kids to form a close friendship then there is a higher chance that Char will stay loyal to Zeon and I won't have to make a grand propaganda speech for my dead brother. It may not have been much right now but baby steps could later form large leaps in progress. For the next half hour we have a rather pleasant talk about the current state of affairs in Side 3 and the job I'll need to do when I get back to work. Deikun then proceeds to leave with a promise to see me when I go back to work Monday morning. Turns out the man wasn't bad as a person. However, I had a bad feeling that he would still die the same way even with my current presence in the Universal Century.


	3. The Grand Plan

**February 4th, 0067  
**  
Well it's been one month since I became Gihren Zabi and I'm still alive. Yay! In all honesty while most SI/ISOT's describe in detail the conflict and change that their character implemented, my time was just...boring. The main problem was that we were still a decade away from the tensions of the One Year War and with my current position as Secretary of Colony Development my hands were pretty tied. It's not like I could just walk into Deikun's office and just give him the plans for the MS-06 without any questions on how I got the plans or why I wanted to build giant mechas for war when we were currently in a time of peace. So this meant that my time was mainly being used for creating plans as well as trying to improve the current state of technology of Side 3 thanks to the rather obscure meaning of my title as head of colonial development. As of right now while we were technically futuristic, Side 3 was still stuck in quasi-70's mode like how Fallout is with the 50's. The problem lying due to the fact that Tomino couldn't have possibly imagined all of the advances that we were able to achieve such as the internet, cell phones, and 3-D printing. Right now though I was working up on brining Zeon's tech up to speed while focusing on the enlargement of our current side and better living conditions for the colonies. How could I possibly do all of this you might ask? Well when I came "home" from the hospital after the first day I went to Gihren's room where I discovered two giant textbooks on my new bed. One was labelled, as the "Encyclopedia of the Universal Century" while the other was "OTL technological developments to the time of your departure". The titles are pretty self explanatory to their meaning, giving me a reference on all mobile suits and story developments (I read the wiki alot for fun but never took the time to memorize it) as well as the tech upgrades that Tomino never thought existed in the 1970's. On top of both those notes was a small letter that said this:

 _Dear Kaiser Gihren. Congrats on your ISOT and welcome to the world of Gundam. I know this might not have been what you wanted but it is a dream come true and your new presence will hopefully save the Earth Sphere from the constant warfare that will take place in the next three decades. The following are reference guides that are meant to handle the complicated tech problems as well as to remind you of the obscure developments you may have missed while watching the show. From now on you'll be on your own as this path is yours and I cannot further interfere. Good luck and may you bring independence to the Spacenoids. Sieg Zeon!_

The letter was not signed so that still left the identity of my benefactor as a mystery. Though as a devout Catholic I just assumed that God did me this one favor in the strangest of ways since I really didn't receive any other proof that would suggest otherwise. It was nice to receive the books also as I was a History Major in college and I'm pretty damn sure that in 99.99% of self-inserts those people didn't pop into their world with advanced masters in engineering. With my newfound knowledge I spent the next months making plans in secret for the eventual rise of the Principality. I also made a set of plans for everything that I would do in the One Year War but I wasn't going to focus on those too much until the Zabi's were firmly in power. As of right now here way my current checklist:

Get the Deikuns on our side. At the time of Zeon's death make Casval and Artesia (Char and Sayla) be on my side so that they don't leave with Jimba Ral and then fight for the federation/kill all the Zabi's.

Get along with my family. Progress relations forward to the point were we won't at least commit fratricide against each other. Zabi disunity caused Zeon to lose the war.

Develop tech for Side 3 as much as possible. Work with Kycillia to prevent major developments from falling into the hands of the federation. Give benefits to population that will make them love the Zabi's.

Get the other sides to become Pro-Zeon. May lead to possible annexations in the future and give us an upper edge in the fight.

Minovsky Particles, Mobile Suits, and Newtypes need an immediate start.

Get as many of the best Gundam characters to work for Zeon (Amuro, Tem Ray, Bright Noah, Minovsky, etc.)

Find out how to retrieve Laplace's box

Expand in the Solar System so that Zeon won't become reliant on the colonies. Mars, Jupiter, Titan, Moon, Asteroid Belt, Europa are best targets.

Assassinate future Federation and Titans leaders before they become a threat.

Make the economy self-sufficient for when the blockade happens. When official military is created then the United Maintenence Plan needs to be first development.

It wasn't much of a list but it was definitely a good start. I had plenty of time to focus on military reforms and plans for the war once I became Prime Minister and let Dozle and Delaz implement my changes. As of right now I was already implementing my tech uplift through slowly leaking designs to major electronics firms and corporations that were located in Side 3. Already advances were being made with Munzo Communications announcing the production of a brand new phone that would be smaller and more efficient then ever before. I was at the same time also introducing changes within the government such as showing Diekun the ideas for the 3-D printer earlier this week, which would immensely help in the colonies obtaining self-sufficiency in production and allow us to compete in greater quantities than ever before. With luck we would have the Internet by the end of the decade and humanity can slowly obsess over cat videos like it was always meant to. While my tech plans were going well I still had to face the most important challenge of living the life of Gihren Zabi. Getting my family to like each other.

Over the past month I've changed Gihren's old personality into a nice and reliable guy so that way I could gain my families trust and not have my dad call me the next Adolf Hitler. I've been actively trying to get them to notice that I'm changing through helping around the house, making conversation at dinner, actually listening to my siblings problems and offering brotherly advice. Through it all I can successfully say that I've lowered my families crazy meter from Lannister to Borgia. Right now Garma loves me as his big older brother since I always make sure to help him at schoolwork, but I think even in OTL he still loved Gihren despite his flaws. I've been bonding more with Dozle as he seems like a pretty cool guy to hang out with, we've been doing lots of activities together such as going to the gun range, frequenting bars in Side 3, playing chess and discussing military developments. Sasro and I have somewhat cordial relations and now I work with him as my right hand man for internal politics in Zeon's parliament. Degwin is still cautious of me but I can see from my observations that he's starting to warm up to me and is considering my opinions more. Kycillia... well she's still being Kycillia. I can't really say I blame her since her entire career is built on espionage and mistrust, and due to Gihren's past interactions with her that were never really too friendly she constantly rejects my advances no matter what I do for the family. While I could easily choose to just ignore Kycillia, I needed her in the future for all the covert ops that I needed to pull once in power. So long as I didn't kill Degwin or go too power crazy then I can trust that she won't try and kill me without a valid reason.

Right now I'm sitting within my own personal office within the Zabi mansion when my three eldest siblings walk through the door. I called them all here in order to reveal my earliest plans for them and form my first inner circle to work for the betterment of Zeon and our eventual victory in the war. Right now Garma was at the Deikun's house where he was working on a school project with Casval. Much to my relief the two boys have been getting along well since I introduced them and Garma already declared Casval to be his best friend. I was content to let Garma have a good childhood but right when he enters Zeon Military Academy I'm going to have to start training him so that he can fulfill the role of my successor one day. Back to my present situation Sasro, Kycillia, and Dozle enter the room with strange looks of curiosity as I had never before called family meetings like these in the past.

"Gihren, what exactly is the purpose of you calling us here? I have important things to do and I don't want to waste my time in fruitless discussions." stated Kycillia.

"Look everyone take a seat up front. I can promise you all though that what I will reveal is very important not only to the future of our family, but to all of Side 3 and the Earth Sphere itself." That certainly perked up their intrest as each person was now paying close attention to my words. "Before we can begin however I would like to apologize for my previous actions. Before my accident I was a total asshole and a cold person to everyone of you even though we're all family. From now on I'm going to do my best to act as the eldest brother to all of you and make sure that our family is happy again. I have big plans for the future and I'm going to need your help if they're going to succeed. So I'm sorry." After my little speech I look back to everyone where there was a look of total shock.

"Who are you and what have you done with Gihren?" asked Sasro.

"I think it's just nice though that Gihren is finallly admitting his faults and horrible personality."

"Don't you start patronizing me Kycillia when all of you guys are just as bad as me in different ways. Well except for Dozle, you're alright in my book." Both Sasro and Kycillia had bursts of anger while Dozle flashed a grin of pride.

"If you're done with the apologies and insults Gihren..." said Sasro.

"Look sorry for that I just felt like we needed to address the obvious tension in the room. Here is the real reason why I asked all of you to come tonight." I then lay down a series of folders on the desk with each one labelled differently for my siblings. They then start to tack their files and look through it. "You see while I was in the hospital I also had an epiphany, one of the current state of Side 3 and the future of Zeon. As you know we live under the oppression of the federation everyday and while Zeon Deikun is a good man, he is not the leader we need in order to save us from earth and bring side 3 to it's full potential. I believe that in order to save Zeon we will need the Zabi's to shoulder the responsibly of history to come. In each file are jobs and objectives that I need you three to utilize your talents for this new regime. Sasro you'll hand the party and all domestic developments within Side 3. No one knows politics better than you so I will need you to deliver Parliment into father's hands. Dozle as an officer within the defense forces you are the only one of us within the military and will be key to any future wars or other conflicts where we must find ourselves in. You'll need to become the next Patton if Side 3 will need to achieve independence through arms. Last but not least, Kycillia I will need you most of all as you'll handle intelligence reports and protect our nation from all internal and external threats. Anything I do will need your aid so you must become my right hand man, or women in this case, to implement the Zabi reforms and make sure we stay in power for generations to come."

All three of my new partners in crime were looking over the materials and were completely suprised by the amount of thought and detail that I put into everything. "I can't believe you've done this all by yourself this past month Gihren. I'm looking at military strategies for total war with earth, hypothetical weapons and machines that aren't even in our aresnals, and the complete weaponization of mobile suits." said Dozle.

"If you think that's alot look at what I've got. Lists of important names that I've never heard of before. a thousand different scenarios for political changes and future crisis. By the way what the hell is this Laplace's Box that I keep reading about?" asked Kycillia.

"And in my hand is a process that will put father in power as a sovereign and turn Zeon into an autocratic state. Gihren just what exactly are you planning some kind of coup?" In truth it appeared that while Dozle was completely dumbfounded Kycillia and Sasro were not entirely uncomfortable with my objectives but rather the fact that I created them. I know they've been doing something similar in their own time but rather just not as in great a detail as I have.

"Look everyone, I'm not suggesting that we do anything right now but rather that we form contingency plans for the future so that if we do have to take any action then we'll be well prepared."

"These are some contingency plans." said Dozle.

"Yes, yes they are. And as of right now I am 99% certain that we will need to implement them in the future. You don't have to do anything right now besides just look at the ideas tonight and think about them. I'll tell father of my plans later but I need you three informed first so that we can go forward with them. If you decide to join me then great, welcome to the inner circle. If not, then good luck on whatever you want to do. Talk to me later when you've finished reading and have a response."

With that everyone then starts to leave with an inquisitive look on their face over their new revelations. Just before she leaves however, Kycillia then stalls at the door and turns to face me, "Gihren?"

"Yes Kycillia, what is it?

"I know I've been cold to you since your accident but I still thought you were just going to relapse into your same old self as before. Now I can tell that you're definitely trying to change and are putting the family first before your own self-ambition. So if your going to try then I'll try to... get along and see where this whole plan of yours goes. If you try to pull any trick on us though then I'll make your regret it!"

"I couldn't ask anything more of you sister. Goodnight." Kycillia then turns and swiftly leaves the room. I look out and see Dozle and Sasro who were both standing next to the door and were stunned at their sister's confession. We may not be the perfect family but at least we were making progress.


	4. Doctor Mitchum's Augmentations

**January 4th, 0068**

Today is the first official anniversary of my insert into the body of Gihren Zabi. For the rest of my family it was just another day but I broke out a little champagne privately in order to celebrate a good first year. I had settled well into the life of Gihren Zabi and now I had finally gotten used to living life in a space colony. My job of colonial development was going alright in that we were able to successfully build 3 more colonies that would be added to the side, which meant millions of more supporters and soldiers for the future war. We were also exploring and managing the asteroid belt after I managed to convince Diekun about the benefits of obtaining resources from there and the future for Spacenoids inside these rocks. Already I was given complete control over the future bases of Solomon, Axis, and A boa Qu. The settlement of both Solomon and A bao Qu were being delayed so that I could install the early military infrastructure after Deikun's death, and as for Axis I was working closely with my family to make sure that it became a safe haven for a Zeon remnant should we lose the war or the Zabi's get kicked from power. All of this we managed to create with the new Industrial 3-D printers that came about in mid-July which skyrocketed our GDP to new heights. Lastly of note when it came to my job was the beginnings of Mars colonization. Diekun managed to petition the Earth Federation for a charter to colonize and terraform Mars which they surprisingly granted, though according to Sasro they did so only because Jaburo thought it would just be a waste of time and resources for Side 3. Indeed we wouldn't see the finalization of it until decades in the future but steps were being taken such as the creation of a stable atmosphere (Mars's solar winds were not found out until the 2010's so we're operating under the anime laws of physics that said it's okay), and the introduction of the first bacterial life forms which would form moss in a few years and with luck would melt the polar ice.

Outside of colonial development I've also been pretty active with my greatest achievement being the birth of the Flanagan Institute a decade ahead. I pitched the idea to Zeon one day and he absolutely latched on due to his love of Newtypes and his hope that the research would lead to a greater number of them being discovered and developed. There were large amounts of protests that this was a huge waste of tax dollars, including from my father and siblings, but Diekun's personality and hard will won the battle at the end of the day with him promising Degwin for a political favor down the road. Already Doctor Flanagan had over 2 dozen students including a certain Indian girl that I had rescued from a brothel on Side 6. While Diekun hoped that this would lead to the peaceful development of Newtypes I was already in secret talks with Flanagan for the potential training (though voluntary on part of the subject of course) of their newtype powers for military use, soon we would hopefully blitzkrieg the federation with a whole squadron of Elmeth's. Outside of Newtype developments my tech uplift was progressing more or less on plan with plans for every invention up to the mid-90's being leaked out and inventions appearing every day from Side 3, we were now being called the Side of Wonders as everyone else in the Earth Sphere was shocked at the rapid rate of technological progress we had made in one year. The military was also progressing more or less steadily in that while we may not have expanded, Dozle was doing a great job making it into an efficient fighting force that would one day become the elite of Zeon. As for politics Sasro and I had managed to get the Zabi faction to a slim majority while Kycillia and I were working on slowly eliminating the Federation spy network on Side 3, sending Jaburo into a frenzy with the loss of their agents.

As for my family I could proudly report that we have somewhat normalized. Right now my relations with my siblings were civil ranging from indifferent coworkers with Kycillia to loving brothers with Garma. I even got Degwin to notice my changes and now I pretty sure he now looks at me in the same love and light as my other brothers in sisters. Speaking of Degwin, I even managed him to start a weight loss program so that he wouldn't have to take ten different types of medication come 0079. He's been very stubborn throughout all of it but now he's lost around 30 pounds and a chin of fat. I still wouldn't call us normal as our method of family bonding usually included plans to take over the world. Since i got everyone of the family sans Garma into my plan we've been nonstop working on plans and ideas to put the Zabi's in power once and for all. Through all of that I would say we've gained a level of trust and dependency on each other that was forever absent in the original series. So now I could look at Kycillia without having to worry about her giving me a headshot from the back, well most of the time, sometimes I'd see her coming home from work with this sinister grin about her day that just sent shivers up my spine.

At this very moment I was in my office overlooking progress on Axis when my secretary (not Cecilia, she's 7 right now) notified me that my next appointment, Doctor Mitchen, was already here. Now for those Gundam fans who had absolutely now idea who this person was, Doctor Mitchen was the father of Karla Mitchen from Thunderbolt who had managed to achieve the creation of advanced prosthetics that would later be used in the Living Dead division. Sadly according to Thunderbolt he never received much support for his projects and was imprisoned by Zeon due to his speaking out against the Zabi's. With me however, both of those would not happen as I'm sure that after this meeting today the good Doctor would become a diehard Gihrenist. "Ah Doctor Mitchen, welcome. Please have a seat."

"Thank you Mr. Zabi I'm very glad that you took the time to meet me." He then started to seat down where I noticed that he already had his prosthetic arm attached on his right side. _'Poor guy, hopefully with what happens today we can better treatment for boys like Daryl after the war starts.'_ "Mr. Zabi I do have to ask though why the Secretary of Colonial Development would be interested in my work? I've been petitioning the Office of Health and Human Services for months yet I still haven't gotten a reply."

"Well Doctor, as head of Colonial Development my job is to make sure that everyone in the colonies live happy and productive lives. That includes the implementation of health care such as your prosthetic designs that our idiot bureaucrats at Human Services have overlooked. My father has the personal ear of Zeon Diekun so I'm sure with a good word I can land you with a meeting with the Prime Minister himself."

"Why thank you! Thank you! This is far more then I could've ever hoped for." I did start to notice however that he was sweating intensely with the added stress that was put on this meeting. _'You don't have to freak out you know, I'm already going to fund your projects.'  
_  
He then went on a rather impressively detailed 30 minute presentation that went on about the history of prosthetic limbs and the development of his own research. He then showed me his own arm and offered a full explanation on how his products reacted at the same time as a biological limb and could respond to stimuli in a manner that was the same as a normal person's with a .0001% difference. Unfortunately however while the arms and legs could function the same they did not give a feeling of touch without any central nerves to connect the body and limbs.

"Overall Doctor I have to say I'm impressed with your work. I do have some questions though and forgive me if I'm wrong due to my lack of knowledge in medicine. But why exactly is the appearance of the prosthetics so... how should I put this?

"Robotic and less human?"

"Yes sorry about that. It's just that if our population will receive this then I was hoping that they could have their lives restored to the near same as it was before."

"I can assure you Mr. Zabi that I have looked into the issue before but as of right now I haven't received extensive funding to be able to attempt a near perfect replica of the human limb. Besides even if I were able to get the money it would be a momentous task due to the high amount of maintenance that is required and the complexity of engineering to create such a model."

"Hmm. What about Mobile Suits?"

"Mobile Suits, sir?"

"Yes Mobile Suits. They're essentially just mechanical copies of a humanoid body anyways but with the requirement of a massive nuclear generator to keep running. Yet at the same time they have been able to copy the same functions of a human with all parts of the body, with the exception of the head, acting in a near perfect manner, especially the arms and legs which respond in the same way as a person so long as commands are given to it from the pilot. Now what if we were able to copy the limbs of a mobile suit, but miniaturize it and equip it to a human using your special nerve system. Then could we have perfect humanoid artificial limbs."

"That, that could actually work! Oh thank you Mr. Zabi, thank you! I can't believe I've been pondering the question for years when the answer has been right in front of me. Mobile Suits! Who would've thought? Now I'm more than sure that I can do this so long as I have the funding required. I haven't even gotten to the part about artificial internal organs." _'Really? We can already make even that? I've got to say I'm disappointed with my counterpart as he essentially arrested one of the top medical revolutionaries of our time simply because he spoke the truth about Gihren.'_

For about another hour we go over the rest of the artificial limb process and the possibility of artificial organs. This was something that was somewhat developed in my time but now we could go full Ghost in the Shell/Deus Ex style with artificial eyes, hearts, and kidneys. While I was a bit worried that one day we might become too overrealiant on this technology it was the best solution that people needing new limbs and organs desperately needed. Besides I was already looking for new solutions to counterbalance this with the development of cloning in the Universal Century. We end the meeting on a high note with my promise to get Diekun's support for this project and funding to come from Human Services, to which a teary eyed Mitchen thanked me with a rather awkward hug. All in all I was rather proud of myself today. I not only saved the careers of a man and his daughter but I also ensured the quality of life for the human race would go up exponentially in the next few decades. Before my day is over I have one last meeting in which my next appointment walks through the door. The man standing in front of me, is none other than Professor Trenov Y. Minovsky.

"Professor Minovsky, glad you could make it here." I say shaking his hand.

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me Mr. Zabi. Though I would like to know why your interested in my work." said the man in a thick Ukrainian accent. It was not hard to see the man's doubt since he's been a laughingstock of the scientific community for years.

"You see Professor, I've been looking over your work lately and I too believe that this so-called Minovsky Physics is a new scientific reality." That sure got his attention since most people rebuked him for his theories. _'Oh you have now idea how right you are Professor.'_ "As of right now I can see the wonders that your new form of energy production can have for the colonies. What I'm interested however is the development of energy production for a specific purpose, the development and independent work of mobile suits."


	5. Death of Deikun

**October 3rd, 0068  
**  
Another eight months have gone by and so far everything is proceeding according to plan. The tech uplifts keep on coming as we are now around the year 2000 in terms of early tech and a few weeks ago came about the creation of the internet or _Zeonet_ as our server for Side 3 is called. I'm amazed at the current amount of progress we've been able to achieve but then again Zeon did make the huge leap from the Zaku II to Gelgoog in just one year, and that's not even including other inventions such as the Big Zam and Apsolus. The military is going fine and I've managed to make Axis the center of all of our secret projects for the creation of our future Space Armada and invasion of Earth, away from prying feddie eyes of course. Domestic politics are more or less stable as while Parliment is making a huge fuss about the federation there are no big internal conflicts yet. Thanks to Professor Minovsky we're in the middle of the creation of the miniaturized nuclear reactor years early and plans are already being drawn for the YMS-03 Waff in cooperation with Zeonic. The biggest development over all is that I've finally tracked down Laplace's Box. Kycillia was initially skeptical when I first brought the topic to her as she failed to see how a "cardboard box" would win Zeon its independence. She was however finally pulled in after doing some looking out of curiosity and noticing how the Laplace bombing and the Federations ties to the Vist Foundation were heavily being covered up. Through a long and difficult journey we were successfully able to determine that the box was now located in Side 1 inside of the Vist Mansion. As of right now I would make no moves to recover the box but would instead watch its movements and that of the foundation. The box was ultimately my trump card that I would need to use at the start of the war in order to get full colonial support and give Zeon the total moral justification in the conflict. When I finally did make my move the Vist's wouldn't know what hit them.

One thing that kept on bothering me though as we entered this month was the possibility that Zeon Deikun's death would now occur. According to the Encyclopedia the events of The Origin took place in October of 0068 but it never stated which day Deikun would die. After all this time I was pretty damn sure that we were in The Origin continuity as I had been doing heavy research since I got here on which part of the Universal Century I arrived in. The main thing about The Origin which was both relieving and unsettling at the same time was the fact that it never stated that the Zabi's were responsible and that it could have been due to Deikun's own health or the federation. This meant that my family would be perfectly innocent but that someone else unknown would be responsible for the death. In addition there was always the slight chance that we would not be following Deikun's death as canon and it could happen later. Whatever the case I had the contingency's laid out and was fully prepared to plan for the occasion.

Right now I was currently driving in one of our family's cars across the colony to get to the Deikun Mansion. Casval had invited Garma to come earlier today so that they could hang out and start making plans for Halloween later this month. I could've sent one of the servants to pick Garma up but I wanted to do it myself since I really didn't like the idea of using labor for trivial reasons and I thought that it would be better bonding with Garma if I was his chauffeur. Besides those points I really just liked driving within the colonies for fun. It still amazed me even after all this time how the world was essentially a giant prism with someone's house literally in the sky and acting as your ceiling. I pull up to the gate and the guards let me in after seeing my face since I didn't really need extensive security checks as Gihren Zabi. I park in the driveway and then proceed to knock on the door where I'm met with the sight of Astraia Deikun, who I have to admit was quite the beautiful woman to meet in person.

"Lady Astraia. It's nice to see you. I'm here to collect my little brother Garma since it's getting late and we need to head home for dinner."

"It's always a pleasure to meet with you Gihren. I'm so glad that Garma has such a loving older brother to look out for him. The boys are upstairs finishing a board game but I told Garma that you had arrived. Why don't you come in and settle yourself while Garma gets ready."

"Don't mind if I do ma'am." I walk inside the Deikun household which I have to admit is slightly larger and fancier than the Zabi place which has always made my father a bit jealous. I look at Astraia as she leads me to the living room when I notice that she has a look of sadness and a bit of stress on her face. I wouldn't call it depression but it seems that something is clearly on my mind.

I settle myself down on one of the chairs in the living room when I notice a little blonde angel which I recognize as Artesia Deikun or Sayla Mass as she was known in another world. "Mr. Gihren!" she yells and then proceeds to hug me fiercely.

"Hey there you little sprout. Could you please release me so that I'm not squished from your fierce might?" I joke playfully and then hug her back. Ever since I was inserted into Gihren I always made an effort to get closer to Casval and Artesia so that way when the tragedy of their father's passing came they would stay loyal to Side 3 and wouldn't run off with the Rals. I would say I'm pretty successful since Casval doesn't pay me much mind but respects me as Garma's older brother. I managed to get Artesia to adore me since last year I gave her a rescue cat for her birthday last year, something that caused Zeon Deikun an immense amount of grief when he heard a purr come from my gift to his daughter. It wasn't the same breed as her original cat but she still named it Lucifer and loved the feline greatly. Since then she kind of sees me as a sort of uncle and tries to get my attention every time I see her."

"Look Mr. Gihren! I made a drawing in art class of you on Mars fighting the big bad aliens." Ever since Deikun announced the Mars Colonization project Artesia had become fascinated with the idea and now held an interest in astronomy in her many childish wonders. She then showed me a crudely drawn picture in crayon of myself on a red desert which was probably Mars, fighting big green blobs with a sword.

"Wow, impressive. I'd say that we have the next Pablo Picasso on our hands wouldn't you agree Lady Astraia?"

"Yes it would seem that way Gihren. Now Artesia don't bother our guest since he's going to leave soon with Garma. Besides didn't you say that you would give Lucifer a bath?"

"Oh no. I've got to find kitty. Bye Mr. Gihren! I've got to make sure Lucy-fer is squeaky clean." Somewhere in the house I could swear I heard a cat groan in torment. Ah the joys of children.

"Ah Artesia, such a little bundle of joy. Lady Astraia I don't want to pry too much into your private life but I need to know that everything's okay. You seem awfully sad so I know that something is clearly bothering you."

"Oh no everything is fine Gihren, well mostly. You see Zeon is up in his office trying desperately too come up with his speech tomorrow for his grand deceleration against the federation. He stresses out over it too much and when I try too help him he instead rebukes me and says that he needs to work on it till its perfect. I would offer advice but I'm not knowledgeable on these sort of matters like you two." I nod in understanding but in my mind something seems too familiar with this scenario... _'Son of a bitch! This is the opening for The Origin in the exact same manner. That means that Deikun is going too die tomorrow. Holy crap. I've got everything planned out for this day but am I truly ready. We've only got less than 24 hours for all this to work.'  
_  
I start to get very nervous and it's going to be really uncomfortable talking with Astraia now that I now Zeon is going to die soon. Thankfully I'm offered a way out of this situation when Garma starts coming down the stairs with Casval. "Ah Garma there you are. You ready to come back home? It's Lunar meatball night back at the house."

"Oh boy my favorite. Bye Casval! I'll see you next week so that we can get the materials for the costumes. By the way I'm not going to lose to you in chess again."

"In your dreams Garma, see you later. Bye Gihren."

I then quickly make my pleasentries and then proceed to leave with Garma in tow. While I'm driving back to home a million thoughts are floating in my mind about what to do tomorrow. _'I need to alert father and the rest of the family first. It's also important to know whether or not this is going to happen scene by scene according to the anime or if it will diverge. Maybe it won't be tomorrow at all. What if it's another day.'_ I look back in the rear view mirror when I notice that Garma is looking kind of glum. "Garma? Everything go alright with Casval at his house?" I swear if that little fucker Char hurt Garma then I will unleash Kycillia and...

"No everything was alright when we were hanging out. It's just that I noticed Cas would always look sad today when he thought I wasn't looking, I tried to cheer him up but he still felt the same way. Do you think I'm a bad friend Gihren?" Garma says looking at me tearfully.

Well that was certainly different, although rather nice to see Garma care so much. "No Garma you're not a bad friend at all. I'd actually say your a great one considering your looking out for Casval's feelings. I think the problem is that Casval is just that he's sad because of his father."

"What do you mean?"

"Well Mr. Deikun has a very important speech he has to give tomorrow and he's really stressing over it right now. You know how father and I are when we're busy doing something for work?" Garma then nods. "Well that's how Mr. Deikun is right now and the way he's acting is causing Casval to feel sad because he sees his father like this and he can't really do anything about it. You understand what I'm saying?"

"I... I think I do. Thanks Gihren." Garma then cheers up and looks much more positive right now. I have to admit that while the Deikun family was more stable than ours that Char always had a massive father figure that made him do everything he did originally which included deciding to drop a meteor on the Earth for some fucked up reason. Then again I'm not really all that much different as Gihren always kind of saw himself in Degwin's shadow. We make it back home around ten minutes later and Garma runs off to his room while I make a bee line for Degwin's office. I walk in as he's currently trying to figure out the new computer that we just installed for him.

"Ah Gihren, so nice to see you my boy. I trust that you made it home with Garma safely and that everything went alright with the Deikuns. As you can see right now I'm in a bit of a pickle trying to figure out this blasted machine. So did you come to help me or for something else?"

"Father I need to ask you something and I want you to tell me the whole truth. Do you have any plans for Zeon Zum Deikun tomorrow during his speech. I need to know as the future of our family may depend on the next twenty-four hours."

"No Gihren not really. I was just going to show up at the after party and discuss the aftermath and people's reaction. Is there something that I should know about?" He looks at me inquisitively.

"Father I need you to trust me now more than ever. I don't have hard evidence but I believe that Zeon Deikun may die during his speech. We need to enact Plan Caesar soon."

"That's a pretty bold claim Gihren. Would you be the cause of death?" Degwin asks staring me down. I don't think he would really care if Deikun dies as he has also made plans to even kill him. But knowing Degwin he'd be pretty pissed if I did this without him.

"No father, I nor any of my siblings for my knowledge will be responsible. I just know that there is a strong chance he will die and that we need to act fast if the Zabi's are to take control of Side 3 in the aftermath. I know you doubt me and you have every right to. I'm just asking you to trust me this one time as I've never asked for much before but I need your support now more than ever." I beg pleading.

Degwin then lets out a large sigh and looks at me in the eye. "Fine Gihren. You've proven to me lately that you know what your doing so I have some faith that you wouldn't be making all this up without good reason. Call your brothers and sister after we put Garma in bed so that we can go over the plan again. I'm placing alot of blind trust in you boy, don't let me down."

"Yes Father. Thank you for listening." I then make my way out of the office and make my way back towards my room to get everything I've prepared for this day. Later that night all of the family except for Garma gathers in a huge family meeting where we go over my worries and the plan. Everyone looks skeptical but they all agree to place their trust in me and go along with the plan. Come tomorrow we will know what happens as history may change forever.  
 **  
October 4th, 0068 9:00 AM**

It's a rather dreary day as I make my way to the Parliment as the artificial weather systems have somehow malfunctioned and caused a bunch of stormcoulds to appear. Crowds gather outside the Parliment in anticipation for Deikun's speech to begin, all in all it was an exact copy of the beginning of the OVA. I made my way inside the parliamentary chamber and I take a seat in the center right behind Deikun due to my position in the cabinet. My father is seated a few rows in front on Deikun's right while on his left is Jimba Ral. Seating next to my left is Sasro and he looks calm while reassuring me that if anything does happen that he's got my back in the upcoming crisis. Hopefully with how well things have been going in the family Kycillia won't bomb his car so he'll stay alive at the end of all this. I've come to like Sasro alot and I sincerely hope I can have him by my side when we reach the One Year War. On the outside my appearance is that of calm and calculating Gihren while on the inside I'm a total nervous wreck. This is possibly the single most important day of my second life and everything needs to go well if Zeon is to take her first steps towards winning the war. I pray that things don't have to turn out the same and that if Deikun dies then I can prevent the worst of its aftermath. Deikun then makes his way to the podium to a standing applause when before he can even begin his speech he begins to tug his chest in pain and extreme agony. He then collapses on the floor much to the shock of everyone present. As for my father and siblings it was a confirmation of my suspicions and everything we had gone over last night. They know knew that I was right and that Plan Caesar needed to be implemented immediately. The medics soon come by after a couple of minutes and take Deikun out on a stretcher. I knew it was too late however and that none of their efforts would matter. Zeon Zum Deikun was dead.


	6. Alternate Origins

**October 4th, 0068. 11:45 A.M  
**  
For nearly three hours since Deikun's collapse the whole government has been in a panicked scramble due to the apparent loss of their leader. Politics on Side 3 was extremely bipartisan as there was only one majority party, the Social Democratic Spacenoid Party (SDSP) which was founded by Deikun in 0046. With the exception of certain factions such as the Zabi's, all elected MP's were extremely devoted to Deikun and didn't know what to do when their precious Chairman went down. As for me on the other hand, I immediately got to work by pulling all my family members aside and telling them that Plan Caesar was green and we were to proceed as planned. I can tell from the looks of everyone, especially Degwin and Kycillia, that they're wondering just how the hell I was able to predict this, especially with the present diagnosis being a heart attack. Thankfully due to time constraints we all had to go to our jobs at the moment so I was spared the ordeal of having to explain my reasons, although I will have to face it sooner or later. Anyways Plan Caesar itself was named after Caesar's assassination and the plot by Brutus and co. to take control of the Republic back for themselves (ironically we were fighting to turn the republic into an autocratic monarchy), I was a bit tempted to use the codename Valkyrie but Zeon was already Nazi enough as it is without my adding. Basically the plan was a repetition of the original moves of the Zabi's with Kycillia and Sasro handling Public Relations and making the population of Side 3 think it was the Federation who assassinated Deikun, a somewhat easy claim to implement as it was hard to see a man in the prime of his life die of a hard attack. While the public's retaliation against the Federation was going on Degwin would handle affairs with the government and make the beginning moves to transition Side 3 into the Principality with him as Sovereign. The two key differences so far was that Dozle would be deployed with the military in order to protect the civilians and keep a calm control over the protestors to win brownie points with the Zabi's once we secured into power. I would also be a different part of the plan as instead of doing nothing, this time I'll be by Degwin's side in handling the government while most importantly handling the Deikun kids. Casval and Artesia were secretly the most important part about this plan because without them in the Zabi camp everything that we will have accomplished today will be for naught. By getting them onto my side there will be no Char Aznable, no Sayla Mass of the White Base, no assassination of Garma, and Zeon can successfully capture the Gundam.

At the moment we were all gathered within a hall in the Parliment building were the doctors had laid Deikun onto a bed as they had already proclaimed that he had limited time left. I had just entered the room when I noticed that Deikun was currently saying his last words to my father. I recognized this as the infamous "Will of Zeon" where Degwin gets his claim that he was appointed as Zeon's successor, therefore giving him right to the Principality. A minute after Degwin and Deikun finish their conversation, the heart monitor flatlines which officially announces Deikun's death, causing the whole room to go into grieving. I manage to produce some tears in order to keep up the appearance of innocence and honest grievance, but I have to admit deep down inside I'm a bit saddened at Deikun's death. I had gotten to know him over the past near two years and he seemed to grow on me as a kind man who really cared about his people. I still thought he was a fool in politics but it didn't mean that he wasn't a good man for at least trying. It was definitely a sad affair but necessary for Zeon to take the path it needed for the One Year War. Off to the side of the room I notice Jimba Ral fuming at the appearance of father as he has probably somewhat caught on to our act and sees Degwin's play for power. _'Oh Jimba. You may be right about that but we sure as hell didn't cause Deikun's death. Don't worry though. After today Kycillia and I will take you down quickly so that we can end this petty squabble before Zeon is ruined.'_ Soon an aide arrives and announces that Astraia and the children have entered the perimeter so we must prepare for their entrance. In a few moments all who are present form two lines around Deikun in an exact copy of the anime with Sasro on my left and Degwin on on my right. After some time waiting Astraia and the kids come in with Astraia appearing distraught at the entire situation, Casval a blank but saddened face, and little Artesia stumbling forward confused.

"Daddy?" asks Artesia as she makes her way over to her father's corpse. She then stood still several seconds before somehow connecting the dots and coming to a realization up what just happened to her dear father. "NOOOOOO!" Artesia then falls to the ground sobbing while Casval runs up and tries to support his sister. Now I've been to a fair number of funerals in my time and usually I was composed during the entire event. But seeing Artesia collapse to the ground like that forms honest tears in my eyes.

 **12:20 P.M  
**  
After the Deikuns going into shock over the ideal, Degwin and I escort them into a nearby room for privacy so that they can grieve in peace. Sasro and Kycillia have left the building by now to carry out their objectives while Dozle was still inside and on standby for his role later today. I look out of the window and watch as the protests are turning into riots as the Federation arrives on the scene with guntanks and begins to violently quell the protests, thankfully the room is very insulated so the children don't have to hear the screams of bloodshed. _'Hopefully twelve years from now these victims will be remembered as martyrs for the cause of Independence.'_ I turn my attention back to the room where Degwin is in conversation with Astraia, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this but the chairman had a heart attack. The medical staff did everything they could but it was too late. In his last moments he asked me to look after his affairs and to take care of you, Lady Astraia and your children. That seemed to be his greatest concern of all. Even without those final words I would have considered it my duty to offer my assistance. Please do feel free to rely on me. I, Degwin Zabi, Deikun's oldest comrade, and my family are at your service." I hear some shuffling in the back and I look near the door where I can glimpse Jimba Ral eavesdropping on our conversation. _'Oh you think you're so smart Jimba and that you're going to pull the same shit as last time. Not with me here you sure damn won't.'_

"It is most reassuring to hear such kind words. I am grateful to the Zabi's." says Astraia

Not wanting to just stand aside I then attempt to offer my own condolences. "Lady Astraia what happened today was simply a tragedy that befell upon all the entire Earth Sphere. Zeon Deikun was a visionary, hero, leader, and source of hope for all of the Spacenoids. In many ways he was like a second father to me. I can understand the pain that you're going through right now..."

"Understand?! How can you possibly understand? Artesia and I just lost our father and we'll never see him again for the rest of our lives. What do you know about what we're going through?" yells and angry Casval.

"Casval. That was uncalled for. Apologize to Gihren right now." replies Astraia.

At first I was simply just going to let the comment pass, but then something inside me clicked. Something that wasn't from my past life, rather from the memories of Gihren. "Actually Casval I do understand the pain you're going through now. You see like you I also lost my own parent at a young age, my mother Alice Zabi." Everyone in the room looks up to me right now especially Degwin who gives me a concerned look. "You see my mother Alice was such a kind loving women. Father would always be busy at work with Zeon so she would be the one who stayed at home and often cared to me and my siblings. Whenever we got into a fight she would always break it up and get us to get along again, whenever I was sad or needed help on something she would always be there to comfort me. Mother was a bright spot in my life and I thought she would always be there for us. Then when I was 11 and months after Kycillia was born, she was returning from a trip to visit her relatives on the moon when her shuttle had an horrible accident and leaked in several amounts of high density radiation. She came back to us diagnosed with cancer and by then it was too late for the doctors to do anything. For weeks she was in indescribable agony as the disease tore her life apart. No matter what though she always kept a smile on and tried to reassure us that everything would be okay. Then she passed away after two months and I would never be able to hear her voice or receive her love ever again. The one who has it worse off in our family is Garma though as his mother, my stepmother Naliss, passed away after she gave birth to him. Ever since then though he's tried to deny it, Garma has always felt a high amount of guilt for him being what he believes to be the cause of her death. So I do understand what you're going through right now. At least be glad that your father didn't suffer too much pain in the end and that he kept you and Artesia, his loving children on his mind even in his last moments." What I just said was not some theatrical act but rather the true feelings of Gihren Zabi. After his mother's death was when everything started to go apart from the Zabi's and they all became cold and distant. It was starting to get better with Naliss but after her death everything just became cold in the family, it was rather fortunate though that none of us blamed Garma for her death and we all loved him dearly. It was rather strange in a way. When I had died in my original body my parents were healthy and alive, but these memories I have of a women that I had never met brought me to the edge of tears. I look back to the Deikuns where they look to be in shock and tears after my story. I also look back to Degwin and I can see that he is saddened by my confession.

"Casval. Apologize to Mr. Gihren right now!" said a sobbing Artesia

"I'm sorry Gihren. I didn't know about what happened to you or Garma. He never told me."

"It's alright Casval. You have every right to be upset with your father's passing. I'm sorry that I had to bring it up but it just came to me. I do hope that everything will be alright for your family in these sad times and like my father said, if you need anything at all don't hesitate to ask. The Zabi family will always be in your service. Come along father, we have much work to do." Artesia then pokes her head out and speaks to me.

"Umm, Mr. Gihren?"

"Yes Artesia?

"Could you please bring my storybook from the car? Whenver I feel sad mommy always reads it to me and makes me feel better. Could you please bring it, please?"

"Anything you want Artesia. I'll bring it to you in no time." After that both Degwin and I leave the room to give the grieving family some privacy. Degwin then turns to me.

"Gihren, I had no idea that Alice's death still affected you like this to this day. Are you alright my son?"

"I'm fine father. I've mostly moved on but every now and then it still lingers on me, especially on her birthdays and the anniversary of her death. If you want we can talk about it later but right now we need to focus on the here and now. Mother wouldn't want us to be failing our duty over here would she?"

"No Gihren she wouldn't. I'll handle the government while you still play your role. Once your done handling the Deikuns come back and help me finish controlling the parliment. Good luck, Gihren. I have trust that everything will work as you planned." Degwin then turns to leave and I go in the opposite direction. As I walk away I see in the back of my peripheral vision, Jimba Ral coming up to the Deikuns. _'Alright you bastard, you wanna play? Let's play.'_ I then pull out my cellphone that Munzo Comm. released last month due to my tech uplifts. I call Dozle with it as I made sure to buy a model for every one of my family members after its release.

"Hello? Gihren is this you? You need something right now? I'm right near the parking lot and I was just about to head off and deal with the riots."

"Yes Dozle, it's me Gihren. It's a good thing that I contacted you cause I need you to go to the Deikun's car and get one of Artesia's books. Yes I know it's a strange request but hear me out. After you get the book I want you to head to my location. It's important that you do this with the upmost speed as Jimba Ral is attempting to brainwash the children. I'm going to confront him but I need you as my backup since you're the muscle of the family."

"Got it Gihren. I'll make sure to get it done right away."

"Good, make sure that you do. I'm not going to lie to you when I state that what happens in the next half-hour could affect the legacy of Zeon. Work with the upmost haste and come as soon as possible. Gihren out." I then hang up and hid behind a corner wall where I see Jimba escorting the Deikun's out where I follow on there tail soon afterwords. I was taking a big risk as Ral could easily influence Casval like he did OTL and set him down the path of Char. All I had was the trust that my actions and influence to the Deikuns these past two years could convince them of our innocence. If not, well then I had other plans that I would rather not resort to.

 **Casval POV  
**  
"You must not trust Degwin Zabi. Those loyal to his family might be behind Deikun's assassination." exclaimed Jimba Ral

"Impossible." said Astraia in shock.

"No I am one hundred percent certain of it. There's a riot going on against the Federation outside because the people are claiming that Deikun was assassinated by them. Why is that? All members of Parliment are under a strict order not to reveal Deikun's death and yet it was leaked out to the public in order to get the people to turn against the Federation. There is no doubt in my mind that this is due to the Zabi's, if anything I wager that Sasro Zabi was behind all of this as he has the media entirely under his influence. Degwin Zabi has been scheming for years to get Deikun out of the picture and sieze leadership for himself. So he poisoned him!"

"Mr. Ral, don't say these things in front of the children." pleaded Astraia

"But I must. If anyone needs to know it's these children. Your father was murdered by the Zabi's!"

"Casval, what is Mr. Ral talking about? Why would Mr. Gihren do something like this?" asks Artesia looking into my eyes confused.

In truth I didn't know what was going on at all. One moment Degwin and Gihren Zabi are saying their condolences to my family and saying they'll help us in any way they can. The next my dad's friend Jimba Ral drags us out and says that they murdered him. It just didn't make any sense. Garma was my best friend and I couldn't believe that his family would ever do anything like this. Garma and I have been friends for nearly two years since Gihren introduced us together and although I wouldn't admit it, I don't know how I would've been without him. Garma was my first real friend and was the first person my age to look at me not as Zeon Deikun's son, but as another person who was the same as him. We went through a lot of adventures these past two years, shared secrets, helped each other in school, and supported each other when the other needed it. I even went to the Zabi's house several times and they all seemed okay to me. Sure there were Garma's cold siblings like Sasro and Kycillia, but they still showed that they cared about him and never really acted mean towards me. Then there were his two older brothers Dozle and Gihren. Dozle was like the fun elder sibling I never had as he always spoiled me and Garma and would tag along with us when we went to Munzo City. Then there was Gihren who I thought was cold and mean at first, however I later founded out that he was actually pretty nice and was someone who my father always said he could count on at work. Even Degwin acted to Artesia and me like we were his own children sometimes. Dad also always liked to tell stories of him and Degwin as friends and how he helped created Side 3 with him. How could this family be responsible for his death in any way?

Jimba Ral them motioned at his son who entered the room, "This is my son Ramba Ral, please consider him my personal..."

"YOU"RE WRONG!" I then yelled out loudly to the surprise of everyone in the room.

"What did you say boy?" said Jimba with an angered look on his face.

"The Zabi's didn't kill my father! Garma Zabi is my best friend and there is no way his family would ever do something like this. When Dad died, Degwin and Gihren Zabi were the first ones to give their comfort and condolences to us. Not you! Degwin Zabi was my father's friend and partner, why would he kill him in cold blood. His son Gihren would also never do something like this."

"You fool! Don't you see that you've already been brainwashed by their tactics. I should've known to act sooner, they've already gotten to you. Degwin Zabi is nothing but a power-hungry fiend who has been wanting to stab Deikun in the back for ages. And his son Gihren is the worst of the bunch."

"What the hell is the meaning of this!" I then looked to the door of the room where stood an angry Gihren Zabi with his large younger brother Dozle next to him, looking even more mad.  
 **  
Kaiser Gihren POV  
**  
I had met up with Dozle around five minutes ago and I had us wait outside the room in secret so that we could observe what was going on. Everything went as how it was in the origins with Jimba Ral screaming like a mad banshee about how we were responsible for Deikun's death and the riots (though he did get the part about Sasro and the riots right though) At first I feared that everything was going to go how it was originally with Casval being brainwashed by Jimba into believing we were the culprits and Ramba taking him away. To my surprised relief Casval then jumped to our defense and proclaimed about how we were innocent of the whole affair. As soon as I heard that I motioned Dozle to enter inside and we came in right as Jimba was yelling insults about us. Everyone of the Ral's supporters looked shocked at our appearance while the Deikuns looked relieved, along with Jimba Ral fuming at our entry. I was worried about what would happen if we got into a fistfight but while they may have had an army, I had Dozle.

"What are you murderers doing here?! Were you spying on us? Are you here to finish the job with the children?"

"No, I only came because Artesia requested I bring her favorite book to her." I then pulled out the book at my hand which made Artesia happy while Casval and Astraia looked relieve that I wasn't the demise of Zeon Deikun at all. "Imagine my surprise when I come in not only to find my family being slandered, but you filling the children's head with lies that we killed their father, only a few hours after his death."

"What the hell do you think you're going on about?! The Zabi's are an honorable family and we have always been friends with the Deikuns. I find it strange that right after the doctor's confirm it was an heart attack that caused the death, that you start rambling about an assassination. How do we know that you didn't cause it yourself and your trying to pin the blame on us?" said Dozle as he was cracking his knuckles. His face fuming with the apparent dishonor and insults on our family. I mentally praised Dozle for his quick thinking and turn around about the Ral's being the potential assassins, as it now caused their supporters in the room to question their leader, including Ramba.

"Like I would ever try to kill Deikun when you bastards have been plotting to do it for years. I listened Gihren as you and your father faked your condolences and were trying to trick the Deikun's about how sorry you were and that you would support them in order to cover your innocence. Hell do you really think that that stupid sob story about your whore of a mother would really influence them?"

Everyone in the room looked taken back at that statement as it looked that Jimba had crossed the line, Dozle was now livid as hell and rolled up his sleeves as he was about to slaughter Jimba Ral. Before he could do that however I sprinted into action out of pure instinct and socked Jimba Ral straight in the jaw with my right hook. "You Bastard! You can insult me however much you want. You can call me a murderer, scum, lowlife, a demon. However you will never, EVER, call my mother that again! If you so much as insult her one more time then I swear to God that you'll wish you had never heard the name Zabi!" I then proceed to pick Jimba up, kick him in the nutsack, then punch his face again.

Ramba Ral then made a move to protect his father but before he could do that he was slammed into the wall by Dozle so hard that it caused cracks to appear within the wall. "And where do you think you're going. Do you agree with your father? Do you think we're just a bunch of murderers? Or are you going to insult my mother like that shitstain on the floor did?!"

"Let him go Dozle."

"But Gihren!"

"As much as I would like to see another Ral get beaten up, Ramba is innocent of his father's actions and hasn't done anything yet. We can't take out our anger on those who are innocent of this crime. Just let him go and we can deal with this later." Dozle then does as I say, albeit extremely reluctantly, and lets Ramba Ral go, where he falls to the ground with what appears to be a mild concussion from the impact. Whatever Jimba Ral does I can't make an enemy out of Ramba. He was one of our best pilots in the One Year War and I'm going to need him if we're to succeed in the conquest of Earth. Hopefully even after today's events, he'll still stay loyal to Zeon and won't find fault in our family.

I then turn and face my head towards the Deikun's, with both Casval and Artesia scared because of the events that just transpired. "I'm very sorry you two that you had to go through this on the day of your father's death. No children should ever be used like this right in the aftermath of their parents passing. Lady Astraia I suggest that you come with me and Dozle, we'll escort you to our house we're you'll be honored guests temporarily. I would take you back to your home but I'm afraid that other political factions may try and take advantage of you like this disgrace of a man just did."

"Yes Gihren, I would like that very much. Come along kids. We're going to be staying at Garma's house for a while until this all settles down." Casval and Artesia then follow their mother outside with Casval staring Jimba down and Artesia sticking her tongue out at him. The Ral supporters try and make a move but then Dozle gives them a death stare which quickly intimidates them to back off. I then have Dozle call for an armored convoy to be prepped so that we could make it back home safely with the chaos going outside. Ten minutes later we're on the road and well outside the Parliament's perimeter.

I then turn to face Astraia in the car, "Lady Astraia, I admit that throughout my life I have done multiple things of which I'm not proud. Killing Zeon Deikun however, is something that I would never do under any circumstance."

"I know Gihren I believe you." With that we ride mostly stay silent inside for the rest of the trip. Internally I am glad though, I managed to get the Deikun's on my side. Zeon was one step closer to victory.

 **A/N: I would like to state that Alice Zabi is my OC and was never canon in Gundam. The reason being is due to the fact that when I tried to find information on the wiki about the Zabi's mother it just stated that Naliss was Degwin second wife and was only confirmed as Garma's mother. Tomino never wrote much about her or Degwin's first wife so I made up Alice in order to partially explain why the Zabi's are so messed up with the loss of their mother. Feel free to leave a view for the story and a special thanks to MOR the Divine Being for being the first reviewer. I look forward to your feedback on the story, especially Casval's scene and whether or not I should do more POV's with different characters. Stay tuned for more and updates will be coming later this week. Sieg Zeon!**


	7. Deikun's Funeral

**October 4th, 0068 1:00 P.M  
**  
While the rest of the ride inside the car was more or less calm, on the outside things were not so well. Just like in the anime, as we were driving down the highway a mob of protestors soon crowded around our cars as they were demanding answers for what went on inside parliament. It looks as though Sasro has done far too good a job this time. Dozle switch places with me and grab the submachine gun to frighten these people away, I'll drive while you handle the protestors." I then switch places with Dozle as he gets up and then starts shooting the gun in the air to try and get these people to back off.

"Out of the way! Get off the road! We are on important state business and by blocking us you are committing treason to Zeon!" shouted Dozle while shooting like a wild Nam pilot. I try to move the car but by then the protestors have swarmed in front of us and I can't drive without crushing one of them. A small part of my head that is my inner Gihren tells me to do so anyways, but doing so would make me a murderer and would not be a good sight in front of the kids. The protestors then search the windows to see who's inside.

"Who is it can you see?"

"Wow It's Deikun's family!"

"It's Casval. And Artesia and Astraia too."

The Deikuns in the back start to get extremely worried while I try to contemplate my next move. Thankfully we're saved as a pistol shot goes off in the distance and I look towards the hill to see Kycillia ride in with her security detail and know that's something I never really understood when I got here. If we were in the future and lived on space colonies then why the hell did we still need horses for the police. I asked Kycillia about it one time and she responded that horses we're effective partners for maintaining order and establishing a presence, that and she admitted that they looked cool.

"Cheers love, the cavalry's here." said Kycillia. "Boys it seems like my dear older brothers have landed themselves in quite the predicament. Let's show this rabble how Zeon's finest handles with troublesome pests. With another shot Kycillia's riders swarm the protestors and then disperse them through brute force. Thankfully though it looks like no one has died or sustained major injuries. She then walks up to the car. "What's the matter Dozle? Soldier boy can't handle an angry mob?"

"I'll have you know sister that Gihren and I had the situation perfectly under control. We would've been just fine if you hadn't shown up." says a flustered Dozle.

"Sure thing Rambo." She then proceeds to walk up to my door and I roll down the window. "So Big Brother, how was everything at the capitol after I left. I see that you have the Deikuns with you so I hope nothing bad happened."

"Well everything was fine but then that bastard Jimba Ral came and tried to brand us as murderers. I'll tell you more about the details later. Just know that father is still at Parliment and that the Dekiuns will be guests at our house for awhile."

"Wow miss Kycillia, your sure made quite the entrance. You make quite the dashing figure don't you?" says Astraia.

"Considering I'm a woman is that what you meant to say? It's a quality that all Zabi's have, runs in the family." Kycillia then turns back to me. "By the way Gihren I took out the trash just like you asked me to. When you get home I'd like to have another chess match with you if you have the time. I'm dying to know just how you were able to corner my king into checkmate last game." While this seemed like friendly sibling banter it was code that Kycillia had taken care of loose ends concerning the Deikun's and that we were going to have another family meeting tonight. I can just tell by the look on her face that she's nearly demanding to know how the hell I knew that Deikun would die.

"Thanks for taking care of my chores. I'll make sure to teach you tonight but that doesn't mean that you'll win anytime soon. Now if you don't mind Dozle and I are going to head back home. We'll be fine in terms of protection and I'll call in case we get into any more trouble."Kycillia then left to do her own thing while we finally made it back home after fifteen more minutes. When we go through the gate I'm surprised to see Garma running out the door to greet us. "Garma what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in school. It's not 3 o'clock yet."

"Well I was Gihren, but our teachers let us out for the day because apparently something bad happened at the capitol. I don't really know what's going on but I called the house and Sebastian came to pick me up a few hours ago. Is Dad alright?" He then sees the Deikuns come out of the car. "Oh hi Casval! Hi Arty, miss Astraia. What are you doing here? I was going to talk to you in class but you left too early. Where's you dad?" Garma asks excitedly upon seeing his best friend come over.

Upon the mention of Zeon Deikun, the Deikuns start to become depressed as Artesia begins to sob a bit. "Um Garma. My father, he...he just died, like about an hour ago. The doctors said that he had a heart attack." Casval explains gloomly.

Upon hearing this news Garma's smile wears off. "Oh I'm sorry Cas, I didn't know at all. Mother also died and it was right after my birth so I can kind of know what's happening. I'm really sad about Mr. Deikun. He was such a nice man."

I then walk over to Garma and crouch down on one knee. "Garma listen, the reason that the Deikuns are staying at our house is because they can't go home right now due to some bad people wanting to mess with them. They'll be safe here so Casval and Artesia are going to be living with us for awhile. Now Dozle and I have to go back to the capitol because we have to help father restore order with the Chairman's passing. Now us along with Kycillia and Sasro are going to be out until late at night so until then you're the man of the house. I expect you to treat the Deikuns with good Zabi hospitality and make sure they're safe. Can you do this for me?" In truth it's not like Garma was going to be doing anything important as I could count on the household staff to run the mansion with us gone and the stationed guard will see to their security. I just wanted to make sure that he could make the Deikuns welcome and hopefully cheer them up with his upbeat personality.

Upon receiving this new responsibility Garma then straightens up and makes a mock salute. "Of course Gihren! I'll be the Zabi of the house and make sure you and dad are proud. Come on guys, let's go to my room wehere we can play some games." Garma then leads The Deikuns into our home while Dozle starts the car.

"Don't worry Lady Astraia, I'll stop by your residence later so that way we can pick up any change of clothing or other items that you might need."

"Mr. Gihren, can you please pick up Lucifer. He gets really scared when he's alone and he doesn't know what to do without me. Be very careful, he's really mean to strangers and likes to scratch them really bad."

"Don't worry Artesia we'll get you Lucifer. In fact I'll send Dozle to make sure he's safe and sound." I then look over to Dozle where he takes a sudden gulp. Dozle has always been a dog lover and whenever he encountered Lucifer, let's just say that the cat managed to create an exact replica of his later scars. "We'll be home late so you can start dinner without us, take care." With that Dozle speeds up the car and we make our way back into the inferno.

 **10:00 P.M  
**  
Surprisingly the rest of the day went relatively easy. After I dropped off the Deikuns I headed straight back to the Parliment where I walked into the chambers where I discovered a large group of MP's restraining my father from beating the living hell off of Jimba Ral. After Dozle and mine's beatdown of the Ral's, Jimba rushed into the Parliamentarian chambers and straight up accused Degwin of murdering Zeon Deikun. While that might of led to the anti-Zabi's gaining power, in this situation it was entirely working against Jimba as I told Degwin to back off the power play's openly at least for the first day and tr to be seen as a civil worker and compromise with the other side. These actions along with the doctors on site once again reaffirming that the cause of death was an heart attack (still don't know what kind of future drug causes that) it just made Jimba Ral look like a complete loon. Then of course he called my mother a whore again, and then Degwin started lunging at the man and would've probably socked him if he had quicker speed with a healthier body. When I had returned I calmly explained my side of the story of helping the Deikuns and then being accused out of nowhere, something that helped the skeptics come on our side. In the end we had to have security push Ral off the premises for disturbing the peace. The rest of the day was merely talks about Zeon's death, the ongoing riots, and possibilities for a successor government (with father and I subtly planting the seeds of the Principality). When night came, Degwin ordered me to go home and check on the Deikuns while he took care of some business in his office. I came home finding Astraia reading Artesia to sleep while Garma and Casval were playing in the game room. We had given the Deikun's the Primer guest rooms so that meant that they would be staying in the same hallway with us with Casval and Artesia's room next to Garma's while Astraia slept across the hall. I would make extra sure not to let those kids come into my room though, lest Casval comes across my notes on certain events such as Char's Counterattack.

Right now I was in the parlor room conversing with Sasro and Kycillia over our events for the day. Dozle was not home yet as he was still leading the MDF in helping contain the riots. Thankfully though it did give us some much needed publicity as TV cameras caught him escorting wounded protestors to treatment and making sure that the Defense Force contained the riots in a calm and non-brutal fashion compared to the Federation, which as of right now was being seen as an oppressive totalitarian regime (ironic is it not?). "So you've all heard my tales of dealing with that Ral bastard and the slimey politicians. How went your day dear brother and sister?"

"All things considering everything went according to plan." said Sasro. "My agents have so far been spreading the word nonstop about how Deikun's death has been caused by the federation. We've been very successful with the usage of the internet as soon all of Side 3 learned within an hour and theories started popping up on the web on how exactly the Federation managed to do it. We've also started a smear campaign against the Ral's after you called me about how that scumbag insulted our mother. I managed to leak the camera footage of Ral claiming that father was Deikun's assassin. Thanks to his rash behavior and little proof, polls now show that 85% of Side 3 believes we are innocent and now a growing group that believes the Ral's are responsible. Finally with all the anti-Federation sentiment, my agents are now forming cells for a possible resistance movement. So if need be we can launch a popular uprising."

"As for myself everything went perfect, nothing less than you'd expect of Kycillia Zabi." said Kycillia smugly. "As you heard from Gihren Sasro, I just managed to save our brother's and the Deikuns when they were in in trouble. Besides that I managed to quietly eliminate any potential political threats to father's ascension and managed to weed out the ranks of the police and the ZDF of most of the diehard Deikunists. Right now the Federation is watching complacently according to my sources so we shouldn't expect an intervention any time soon. I also did as you asked Gihren and managed to kill Roselucia Deikun. All we had to do was give her different prescriptions which would trigger a heart attack, something many of Deikun's followers will start to notice is very suspicious to Zeon's own demise, leading to further opposition against the Ral's and the Federation."

"You killed Roselucia without telling me anything. How dare you Kycillia! Our entire plan could fall with reckless actions such as this." Sasro then raised his hand to slap Kycillia but luckily I noticed it before he managed to connect and set up his own death.

"Sasro! Calm Down!" I shout with an immense amount of authority that causing Sasro and Kycillia to turn their heads at me. As for whether or not Kycillia noticed Sasro's actions is something that I am unsure on. "I am the one that ordered the hit on Roselucia so the fault is within me not Kycillia besides I have a perfectly good reason for it."

"And what would that be?"

 _'Well the old hag is a total bitch.'_ I thought to myself. Now in my old life I was a person who you could consider to be pretty calm. It would take a hell of alot to manage to get me to enter a state of rage as seen in my earlier encounter with Jimba. Everytime I walked away from a meeting with Roselucia, I wanted to strangle the old women to death. It spoke much of my level of self control. Deikun's legal wife was nothing but a nagging pain who always ranted about the principles of Contolism, how perfect her precious Zeon is, or how she thinks she's better than everyone else. My old memories before the insertion of meeting with the woman were never pleasant, and neither were my new ones even when I tried so hard to be nice and not lash out at the women. If you thought that she was an asshole just from her two minutes in origins and how she forced Casval and Artesia from her mother, think about her acting like that but 24/7, all the damn time. I spent many nights just wondering why the hell Deikun married this hag and why he never divorced her when he meet Astraia. I mean it's not like anyone was going to drop a tear when Roselucia was declared dead anyways. He had one of the most beautiful women in space for crying out loud. How simpler could you make the choice be?

I however explain my rationale calmly to Sasro and Kycillia. "The reason why I ordered the hit on Roselucia Deikun is simple. It's because she needed to die in order for us to keep the Deikuns. With Zeon's passing all property and legal rights to the children fall to Roselucia, leaving Astraia out of her children's lives and putting the kids in her care. Now that might seem like a position where we can control them but it's actually going to backfire entirely. If Casval stays with that women then he'll start to get ideas about Contolism and how he should be Zeon's successor, leading to a whole mess of opposition down the line which could also happen with Artesia. Additionally with the status as Step-Mother of the Deikun children, Roselucia would have an immense amount of political power that could lead to her opposing our rise to the Principality. Now the other option that we have right now is for the children to go on living with Astraia, a rather perfect solution in my opinion. Astraia trusts us and is not one that likes to get involved in politics, therefore with Zeon's death she'll try to raise the children as normally as possible. She'll steer them away from politics and get them to support us once we establish the Principality. With the support of the last Deikun's, the public will soon support us full heartltedly and the crowds will be screaming the Zabi name all throughout the streets."

"Well I guess when you put it like that it does make sense. I still would like to be informed of these events in the future."

"Relax Sasro. I only told Kycillia because she was the one that I needed for this plan while you were off trying to incite the opposition. Now I will tell the family everything that I do once it's been done but we'll keep things discreet if there is not need to actively spread information in case somehow any of it leaks out."

"Speaking of Gihren, I would like to know just how the hell you knew about Zeon's death?" demanded Kycillia. "You casually set up the assassination of Roselucia and yet you act as though you're entirely responsible for Zeon's death even though you knew the entire time. An heart attack no less which is not something that can easily be found out. No father and I were not informed of this before hand so I would like you to look me in Sasro in the eyes and tell the truth about how you knew."

I sighed inwardly as I knew that this would come in the events. Unfortunately if I spoke the _real_ truth it would lead them to think I was crazy. Even if I managed to get them to love me completely as their older brother there was no way in hell I would let them see the UC Encyclopedia. It was my ultimate advantage and it was one I would take to the grave. I then go pull out of a briefcase next to me, a series of documents which I laid out flat on the table. Ever since I started the tech uplifts I managed to recreate a Windows 10 for my own personal use. Since then I've spent much of my free time on forging Federation Papers on the Deikun assassination, updating it every now and then for new dates. Surprisingly it was something easy to do using old CIA techniques and considering the fact that the Federation did not have the capability yet to counter it. Hopefully when we did conquer Jaburo I'd find some actual papers on Deikun's death. If not I'd have to burn the place or else there would be hell to explain to Kycillia. "I managed to procure these a few months ago due to a contact within Jaburo who for security purposes made me swear to keep their identity a secret, even from you guys. They told me that the Federation was actively planning Deikun's death and were waiting for the right opportunity. That came today with Deikun's speech that would've essentially stated a declaration of independence, something we cannot possibly back up yet without military strength. I was just informed yesterday so that is why I told ya'll right when I got home. Everything is within the papers right in front of you, unfortunately I wasn't able to receive any concrete papers on the drug used as it was apparently an experimental drug that was just created by Federal Intelligence a few weeks ago, with remarkable results as today shows." Sasro and Kycillia look over the papers in detail and I can tell by their expressions that they're satisfied, though Kycillia keeps on glancing at me as she still has her doubts but can't confirm anything. "I'll show father and Dozle this later tonight but until then I suggest we end this meeting. We've had a very productive day but I'd like to discuss further actions with father present. Until then lets head back upstairs and see to our new house guets.

Sasro heads back upstairs and presumably to his room while I notice that Kycillia is still sitting me down, staring at me with those maroon eyes of hers like a cat. "So Gihren, this little source of yours. Is it the same one that gave you the information on Laplace's Box."

"Yes, what about it?" I'm starting to get a little tense about the situation and how much Kycillia expects. Then again she is a spy for a living. _'Come on Kycillia, you can trust me.'  
_  
"Nothing. I'm just curious about how this one person manages to know everything that there is to know about the federation and why you would be the one person for them to contact. Then again I know that you aren't making any moves against the family so I know that you're not entirely lying about this. I will be watching Gihren. There is nothing that goes on in Side 3 that Kycillia Zabi can't notice. Especially when it comes to our family." With those words she struts out of the room with the papers and leaves me alone in the parlor. As soon as she's gone a shiver runs up my spine. _'Damn. My sister is scary as hell.'  
_  
 **October 6th, 0068 10:00 A.M** _  
_  
It was a rather cloudy day but otherwise fine weather. As we made our way through the streets it appeared as though Side 3 became a ghost town. There was some noise and a few people walking about but it was eerily quiet in Munzo City as most people stayed inside or lined up on the streets silently to pay their respects to their dear leader. My family and I were the first to arrive along with the Deikun's at the Church of Galactica, a cathedral of some Side denomination that Deikun wrote to have his funeral in in his final will. The overall state of religion was rather similar to our own as while Christians still maintained a large number with 4.5 billion followers, Islam was rising up with around 3.4 Billion followers and the rest of the Earth Sphere was either a non-Abrahamic follower or an Athiest/Agnostic. I myself was a devout Catholic in my previous life and I still intended to go to church since unlike the ASOIAF inserts there was never any sign that other worldly deities had played a role in my insertion. It was rather odd for the first few months as Gihren was a strict Atheist and I didn't exactly know how to explain my family why I suddenly found faith. Eventually I made up a story that I had received a vision of God while in my coma and while my family was surprised with them being agnostic, they didn't really care too much as Degwin's philosophy with us was that as long as it wasn't scandalous to the family name we could do whatever we want. Since then I managed to enter the Communion state of RCIA and I had brought Garma with me a few times on Sunday when he became curious. With luck I would do my good Christian duty and convert him in a few years. Anyways back to our situation, as we were inside the Church, the pastor started going on with the services and made speeches about how Zeon Deikun was such an illustrious leader and how his loss was a terrible tragedy. We would've had a joint one with Roselucia but she was adamant that she wanted to be cremated with no one watching and no one found out about her passing till after the arrangements were made, a good thing to as it would interfere with the purposes of the state funeral.

My family was in front row on the right side and we maintained an image of professionalism and remorse, before we went inside I made sure to talk to Garma about the even and he promised me he would be on his best behavior for Casval's sake. The Deikuns were in front of the casket dressed with Astraia holding an handkerchief, Casval maintaining a straight posture to set an example, and Artesia looking down the entire time in a depression. I glance to my right and I'm suprised to see that the Ral's are not here, well not both of them as I can spot Ramba in the front as Sasro, Degwin, and Kycillia gave him the stink eye. It looks like Jimba chickened out due to him being ostracized for targeting my family, a good thing too as I didn't want us to get into a pissing contest when we had billions of people watching our actions today. Soon the pastor calls for volunteers to give up speeches of their memories of Deikun. Astraia and the children are the first ones up with Astraia describing of how a great partner he was, Casval talking about his childhood memories, and a rather sad speech from Artesia where she talked about how she missed her daddy and hoped she would see him again one day, prompting manly tears from Dozle. Degwin went up afterwords and spoke highly of Deikun and how he would miss his college and would make sure his vision would be achieved one day. After that I volunteer next and come up to the dias to make a grand speech for everyone present. Now in my previous life as a part of the Model United Nations and Debate team in my high school I considered myself a pretty damn good speech writer and orator. Hopefully with Gihren's skills I could also win these people today with my words.

"Friends, Family, to all people within the Earth Sphere. Two Days ago we lost a great hero, a revolutionary, leader, and man of our time. A decade ago Zeon Zum Deikun founded the Autonomous Republic of Munzo, and in doing so created a state where Side 3's needs could be meet directly and where the state would advance the prosperity of Spacenoids all around the Earth Sphere. Zeon Deikun was a man of the people, he was a family man and in many ways a father figure to me. Every action he took was selfless and would always be done for the direct benefit of both Spacenoids and Terrans so that we could live in an era of peace and spread out among the stars to search for our Newtype potential. Men like Zeon only come once in a lifetime and unfortunately it isn't until they depart from us that we begin to truly appreciate everything that they have done. But fear not my brethren. For while Zeon's may no longer be here with us in body and mind, he shall always live with us in soul and spirit as the Contolist ideal shall always live on in eternity, for Zeon's legacy will never die. That is why just yesterday we have decided to change our name to the Republic of Zeon. As the greatest gesture of respect we can give to our fallen leader who gave so much and asked for so little in return.

On this day I ask that you do not wail in your sorrow but instead take the time to celebrate the life and memory of Zeon Deikun. We must remember all the good times that we had in the past and must not look back in time, but rather towards the future. For as a man of progress, Zeon Deikun was always one who strove to keep moving forward, never to be held back. From this day forward we must commit all of our actions to live up to the name of Deikun and to carry out the will of Zeon and spread it across the stars. Just as Zeon was a loving father and mentor to young Casval and Artesia, so too must we teach the next generation his ways, so that even those with no memory of Zeon will always know the ideals that he fought for and can understand our struggle as Spacenoids which was his life's duty to correct.

In my own beliefs I know that a man that is as great as Zeon is truly at resting in peace in the afterlife. I believe that even right now he is watching over us. Proud that when he left his body in the vacuum of space that he had left behind a loving family, a great nation unlike any other in history, and a people who loved and respected his ideals and that will forever stride to implement them for future generations. For many years I have worked side by side with Zeon Deikun. And while I am forever saddened by his loss I am grateful that in my life I got to know such an extraordinary man. I can only ever hope that in my future actions that I can ever be half of what Zeon Deikun was. So long as we can live as Deikun did then I am confident that he will forever smile upon our work and will continue to watch over Side 3 as we work to spread Contolism all throughout the Solar System and may one day spread the tale of Zeon all across the starts. Rise people of Zeon! Rise for your fallen leader! Take your sorrow and turn it into joy, joy for the life and memory of Zeon Zum Deikun! May we forever keep his will and spread his legacy across the stars! Sieg Zeon!"

I finish my grand speech and I look back towards the audience where everybody is staring at me confused. _'Crap. The whole Sieg Zeon phrase hasn't become a thing yet so people might think I'm a Neo-Nazi. Shit.'_ I am fortunately saved from the most unlikeliest source of salvation as Casval raises his arm in a military salute and shouts, "Sieg Zeon!" My family follows afterwords and everyone in the church soon copies. I had just successfully brought "Sieg Zeon" to Side Three. I would be lying if I said my heart wasn't filled with joy.

"Sieg Zeon!"

"Sieg Zeon!"

"Sieg Zeon!

A few hours later we had gotten all the ceremonies out of the way and were proceeding to the cemetery to lay the body. Garma asked if he could ride with Casval and Degwin gave him permission to join the Deikuns car. Sasro was riding with Dozle, while I was in a separate car with both Kycillia and Degwin. Currently we were on Main Street and were cruising by as millions lined up to pay their respects. "So father I'm extremely curious, did Deikun actually name you his successor or did you make that up on the spot?" I ask.

"I wasn't lying Gihren when Zeon asked me to look after his family and his affairs. He said it word for word as I claimed. But you see the thing is taking care of one's family and affairs is such a loose definition. After all, what better way to take care of his family then to become his successor and create a nation where they will be safe and happy." I smiled at my father as I truly realized how much of a clever mind he was. After all us Zabi's needed to get our scheming skills from someone in the family. "By the way Gihren, has there been any more word from your birds or have they been silent recently?" Degwin asks after having learned about my "confidential source form Jaburo."

"No my little singing canary has been quite lately father. So far everything should be fine in the coming weeks and with luck we can get you to become Sovereign by the end of the year. The Ral's are a bit of an issue but they are begin handled at the moment."

"I just hope we can get this over with soon. I've been working my ass off this entire week and I really need a goddamn vacation." says Kycillia.

Suddenly out of nowhere, an huge explosion is heard and we look towards the back window where Sasro and Dozle's car has been hit. Just like in Origin. _'ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME! How the hell is this still happening if Kycillia didn't cause the explosion, there can't be any other way for Sasro to die, the butterflies should've taken care of it. Unless..'_ I quietly bring up my sidearm and I look towards Kycillia where I'm about to interrogate her furiously for committing fratricide. When I look over at her face however I see instead of a smug and callous grin, something I did not expect. One of shock and fear at our brother's assassination. _'What, does this mean? Is Kycillia really innocent? Did the Federation or the Ral's do this?'_ Against my better judgement I decide to give my sister the benefit of the doubt and try and snap her out of it. "Kycillia! Answer me!"

"Y-yes Gihren?"

"I need you to gather your men and get both father, Garma, and the Deikuns out of here. There could still be more assassin's out there and we got to get them to safety. I'll stay behind and try to see if Sasro and Dozle made it. Take them to the house and gather a regiment of the defense force to guard it. Don't leave for any reason!" I then scramble out of the car, pistol in hand and head out to the car on fire without giving her the chance for a response. In the back I could hear Degwin mutter "My sons." I head out onto the streets where the secret service is already out in full force and is surrounding the car's. The Deikuns are in shock as I can see from the window while Garma is in tears over seeing his brothers potentially die. I then arrive at the car where rustling is heard and Dozle kicks the door off with his brute strength carrying Sasro in hand. Both are rather bloodied but there isn't any guts or limbs off their bodies.

"YOU BASTARDS TRIED TO KILL ME AND MY BROTHER!" Who did this! Who is responsible! I'm going to make you pay!" _'Wait, tried to kill my brother? Does that mean?'_ I then rush over to Dozle.

"Dozle what happened? How's Sasro, is he alright?"

"He's alive but barely. We were just talking about your speech when the driver's seat erupted in a flash and the whole car blew up." I check Sasro's pulse and I can feel his heartbeat, but it's starting to get faint.

"You there!" I point to the nearest policemen. "Call an ambulance and tell them Dozle and Sasro Zabi were almost assassinated. Clear the streets of people and secure the perimeter. My brother is on the verge of death and I swear to God that if he dies today then heads will be coming off and there will be hell to pay!" The cop runs away in fear at my request and makes sure to see it done. I look around at the crowd around me and I try to find someone, anyone that could be responsible. Unfortunately there are too many people here and whoever did this was no Gavrilo Princip. This was clearly well planned. _'Who the hell did this?'_


	8. Politics and Plotting

**October 13th, 0068**

The last week since Sasro's assassination has been a tiring one for the Zabi family. In the aftermath of the bombing Dozle was found with only slight injuries while Sasro was critically wounded and suffering from massive blood loss and internal organ damage. I had to rush both of them to the nearest hospital where Sasro would be in the ER for the next 12 hours while I was waiting outside along with the rest of my family to see whether or not we'd still be following that part of canon. Thankfully after a long time the doctor came out and confirmed that while there had been some close calls that Sasro would make it. It was a great relief to my family since Garma was bawling out due to the thoughts of his brother not making it, Dozle getting frustrated every second for something he thought he should've foreseen in security, Degwin's near lapse into depression over the thought of losing one of his own, even Kycillia looked worried with the thought of losing our family unity that we had worked so hard to gain these past two years. During Sasro's recovery, Kycillia and I jointly took over his job of propaganda and political manipulation with the public. It turned out to be rather easy as we could all easily shift public opinion to one man, Jimba Ral. I don't have solid evidence that he did it yet but it's easy to point out the motives that he is responsible since he called us Deikun's murderers and the bombing happened at Deikun's funeral, which he did not attend. Within days large crowds would be roaming the streets shouting the name of Zabi while taking care of any Ralists that happened to show themselves in public. A bit too much like the 1920's German political brawls for my liking but at least I didn't have any stormtroopers or SS under my command. Back in the capitol, father has been gaining more support every day and it's only a matter of time before he is elected as Prime Minister, the first move towards transforming Side 3 into the principality. At the same time there have been calls by our allies in Parliment for me to become Vice-Prime Minister. While some people decry foul nepotism, they are met back by arguments that I have more than enough experience as a member of Cabinet with all of the advancements and developments made in the colonies from my post, many also like to bring up how Deikun spoke highly of me and not appointing me in such a position would be a huge dishonor to his memory. I act humble during the whole affair but at the same time I'm moving the pieces towards our victory in election, father having assured me that I can have near free-reign in power so long as its within reason. Kycillia and I have been trying to track down who was responsible for the bombing all the while and we've come up with little to no results. It's been extremely hard to find any evidence and the only sure lead we've got is that the bomb was transported to the colony from Luio and Company. At this point we're all but certain that it was probably either the Federation or the Ral's but without any capture of the planter's we can't make the move. Resulting in us just upping the anti-Ral and anti-Feddie sentiment and public mobs in retaliation.

Speaking of, right now it's night within the colony and I'm staring out along with Degwin as we watch the current ongoing riots taking place within Side 3. This time though we've made sure to tell our agents to target areas that openly support the Ral's and keep overall damage to a minimum so that we could create psychological damage versus an overall economic one. Somebody had to pay for the taxes to fix all that and I wasn't going to reverse our economic growth just to say fuck you to the Ral's. "Some men just want to watch the world burn don't they?" says Degwin.

"Well father since we're watching the flames spread that makes us quite the pyromaniacs." I respond in a playful manner.

"I guess that's true Gihren. Though it's not enough to simply fan the flames, we need to restore order. If this goes on any longer then all we'd be doing is inviting the Federation to open intervention, which will set back everything we've planned all these years."

"Don't worry father I've got everything planned. Tomorrow I'll call in Dozle and have him disperse the riots while I tell our agents to stand down. In the end we'll have killed the Ral's credibility and make us look like the heroes. Two birds with one stone."

Speaking of, in comes Dozle with a few bandages on his face along with a huge grin. "Gihren, father! I've never been so delighted in my life. The great Ral family is finally falling!."

"Dozle you should really be resting in bed right now." I say concerned

"I can't stay in bed, not when I'm this worked up. I'm going to avenge Sasro and I'll do it with my own two hands."

"I'll remind you that a cornered mouse will bite the cat. Jimba Ral is already a dead man walking but there is still his son Ramba to be worried about. He seems to be quite popular among the younger members of the ZDF." says Degwin.

"You're right, Ramba Ral is a good man. In fact if he wasn't a Ral I'd want to have him serving under me." _'And yet you forget the fact that you gave him a mild concussion last time we met Dozle.'  
_  
"Then provide them with a way out. It is the prerogative of the victor to be magnanimous."

"Don't worry guys. I'm already working out the whole Ral angle so just leave everything to me. In fact I'm meeting with Ramba Ral tomorrow to personally give him our terms."

Dozle and Degwin then look at me with curiosity. "Gihren my boy, although I am glad that you are showing initiative I am worried that you are putting yourself in direct contact with him. Though you have recently mastered the subtle art of manipulation you have a long way coming to my skills. What's the point anyways? All we need to do is let events take their course and the whole issue will be settled."

"Father, although in my personal opinion Jimba Ral is a low-life scumbag, his son Ramba still has many uses for us in the future. I particularly need him to become the next generation of leaders in our military along with Dozle so that we can have a grand army for a future war with the Federation. Which is why I plan to make Ramba Ral one of the first pilots in the Mobile Suit Project."

"Are you still going on about those damn robots again Gihren? I may not be a military man like Dozle over here but I don't see the point of trying to base our whole military on mechas when we can just use battleships or starfighters."

"Actually father I have to agree on Gihren for this one. I've been looking over his ideas and if Minovsky makes any progress in his energy production then the Minovsky particle will eliminate any sort of long range communications, making space warfare up close and personal. With that in mind the idea of large humanoid Mobile Suits that can easily take out Federation fleets is actually quite innovative. If we manage to start on this long before the Federation does then we can easily make up for the huge resource gap."

"Fine do whatever you want. Just don't be stupid and make sure to protect yourself in case things go south. Jimba Ral and Deikun were both men of the past. The Zabi family will shoulder the Responsibility of History to come." A few seconds later Deikun's cool composure is ruined when Lucifer jumps out of a tree in the nearby garden and lands flatly on Degwin's head. While Dozle jumps back in fear. Artesia then comes running into the garden and becomes happy when finding the black cat.

"Luficer! There you are. Bad kitty, running away and trying to become a wig for Uncle Degwin. I'm sorry Uncle Degwin. I tried to go to sleep with Lucifer but he ran out of my room and I had to chase him all around the house. He didn't break anything though, I made sure of that."

"Artesia you really need to control your cat. While I don't mind him staying here I expect him to be well behaved to the staff and family. Garma's been begging me for a pet of his own and I can't give him one if you set a bad example for responsibility. By the way you didn't hear anything we were talking about were you?"

"Nope. I just walked in a few second ago. What were you talking about anyways. Any secrets? Something embarrassing about Casval?"

"Ah don't worry Artesia, we were just talking about boring grownup stuff. Why don't I take you back to your room and I'll read you Goodnight Moon?"

"Yeah! Thank you Gihren!" Artesia then grabs Lucifer and drags him out the garden cheerfully while I escort her back to her bedroom. While the past week may have been a little stressful with the state, the Deikuns presence were a brightful spot and brought life into the usually cold mansion. Artesia soon got used to living here and while she was still sad about her father's death, she was making a recovery and would run about the house in her own childish manner, reminding me much of my memories of Kycillia's early years before she became a cynical spook. Casval is still reserved and likes to stick by Garma's side everywhere he goes, but I can till from his expressions that he now trusts us completely and thinks of the Zabi's as his second family. So now I won't have to worry about dealing with the Red Comet in the future. Lastly Degwin and I were able to have a talk with Astraia and told her that with Roselucia's death we were able to have our lawyers negotiate with the state to form a contract where Astraia would take legal guardianship of Casval and Artesia and while Casval would inherit all of Zeon's property and goods at the age of 16, Astraia would until then manage the household while our accountants took care of finances. Astraia broke down into tears with this announcement and thanked the Zabi's for sticking by the family in all these dark times and making sure she was able to stay with her kids. With the Deikun's now dealt with I would soon be able to focus all our energies onto the Ral's.

 **Ramba Ral POV October 14th, 0068. 9:00 A.M  
**  
After everything that's happened I can safely say that this has been the worst week of my life. After Dozle and Sasro's attempted assassination, millions of people all over Zeon have been screaming for the blood of my family, shouting that we were responsible. Though I was at the funeral and I never acted any way to go against the Zabi's, many people, including the police, liked to point fingers at my father and say that he was the assassin since he was not present for the funeral. He never even went there anyways because on the day of he kept on screaming about how it was one big trap from the Zabi's and how they were planning to kill him. _'I swear one day this damn obsession is going to kill him.'_ My social life has taken a virtual dump as wherever I go people are screaming for my death and justice for the Deikuns and Zabi's. Fortunately everything is mostly okay within the Defense Force but even some of my closest friends there are having doubts while a majority of officers are slowly coming over to Dozle's side. _'It's not like they matter anyways. The only opinion I'll ever care about is Hamon's. She would never fall for this crap.'_ I walk down the stairs to the basement where one of the servants told me my father is. When I open the doors I see dad along with some other man cleaning rifles while dad points a pistol at me for a quick second. "Oh Ramba, thank goodness it's you. You should really knock before you enter. I almost shot you."

"Father is this really necessary? This looks like the cellar of one of Al Capone's hideouts."

"Al Capone, that 20th century gangster? I'm not criminal Ramba, I'm going to enact a revolution, we'll take back Side 3 from the Zabi's and make it great again. Don't you already see that their enacting their grand plan? The media is lambasting me for causing the bombing when in reality it was Degwin's fault all along. He's behind all of this and I know he caused Deikun's death."

"Seriousely Dad? I'm not a fan of Degwin but even I don't think that he would cause his sons death. Sasro is a useful political tool for the Zabi's while Dozle has done some good in the defense force. You can't even call it a farce assassination since both clearly took injuries from the bombing."

"Are you taking their side now?! My own son a traitor. Did you not forget that Dozle Zabi himself assaulted you? Or how Gihren basically beat me up while you and those lackeys just watched?"

"Dad the only reason that Gihren and Degwin did it was because of the fact that you called their mother a whore. Even I would do the same if Degwin did that to mom."

"He did?! Why that son of a bitch. He's even slandering the family name." 'Dad that's now what I said.' "First the Zabi's take the Deikuns, then they turn the whole public against us with the killings. It's only a matter of time Ramba. We're going to die if we don't take action."

"Calm down dad. As far as I can tell a majority of people still believe the Federation had a hand in the killings, not us. Besides, we wouldn't be in this mess if you didn't go and claim that the Zabi's killed Deikun without any actual proof or try and bring it before Parliment."

"Oh what a sad day this is. Even my own disgrace of a son doesn't believe his dad. If you don't have anything useful to say to me Ramba then get out of the house and don't come back until you apologize." Without bothering to respond I walk out of the room and head back upstairs. Outside there's still a large angry mob chanting our guilt and it's gotten rough the past few days since there's been a few violent incidents with security, though no one's died yet fortunately. It seems with dad going absolutely crazy the only option I have left is to meet up with Gihren. Though I was initially going to refuse his offer, it seems like now diplomacy might be the only way out. I'll use any method to end this crisis, and if it means talking with the Zabis then I'll do it, even if my batshit insane father will forever disown me of it. I've been watching on the sidelines for too far as he brings our family's name down the toilet. It's time to man up and get us out of this mess. _'Why does he want to meet at Club Eden though?'_  
 **  
Kaiser Gihren POV. 9:00 P.M**

In Club Eden most of the patrons, while acting in a lightly manner and enjoying themselves, were looking to the back of the club in a slight nervousness where I sat. I can clearly tell from the puzzled looks of everyone that they're wondering why the son of Degwin Zabi and Secretary of Colonial Development is at an establishment like this during these troubled times. Well the reason for it is that when I planned to confront Ramba Ral I wanted to do it at a place where he is most comfortable, showing that I was diplomatic enough to meet him in a civil manner and that we can talk on his turf. At the same time I was sending a message that I knew everywhere he went and that I would know who to strike with Crowley's presence here. I wasn't stupid enough to enter into a Ralists establishment though without some backup. I paid good money to the owner to reserve a section of the back and make sure that the club would be free of any political bickering tonight. At the same time among the patrons were fifteenth of Kycillia's men in undercover so that if Ramba tries to pull anything I can gun down all of the soldiers here with a quick order and then make it look like the Ral's were trying to assassinate me.

The door in the front opens and I can see Ramba Ral coming in a trenchcoat along with a disguise to get him through the streets of Munzo City. While our agents have been told to stop there is still a present threat for Ramba as any random citizen could try and strike him down to act as a hero for Zeon. He looks around the club and I wave back in a casual manner, so he walks up to my table in an annoyed pace. "You know Zabi you sure got some balls meeting me here when I and so many of my comrades frequent this club."

"Now Ramba, why such the hostile voice. We're just two men of very influential families meeting together in a fine nightime establishment to discuss affairs of the day. If I wanted you dead I would've done it by now and I certainly wouldn't do it in public where you have so many of your own men for backup." Ramba then takes a seat in front of me while he orders some whiskey from the bar. "I do have to say though that I can see why you would frequently come here. It's a nice little bar with a friendly atmosphere, good food and drinks, and extremely fine service. There is one singer here who has a fine voice and is quite a beauty to boot. What was her name again? Crowley.. something?"

That certainly pushes Ramba's buttons as I intended, as I can see him fuming at my mention of his lover."You bastard! Don't you even think about trying to hurt Hamon! If you do anything I swear I'll.."

"Do something? I was just admiring the fine qualities of a good employee and an extremely attractive woman. I wouldn't dream of ever hurting someone like that. You wouldn't happen to be in some kind of relationship with her would you?" Ramba then realizes his mistake as he just then revealed (my already known) knowledge of his connection to Hamon. He looks around the bar where he can see everyone react to his outburst including an extremely flustered, and somewhat angry, Hamon. He then sits back down in defeat.

"That isn't important right now. Can we just get talking about what you want with me?" Ramba says. Ramba then takes the glass of whiskey he ordered and takes a big swig. _'Good, consume more alcohol. It will make you easier to manipulate.'  
_  
"Look, Ramba. As you know right now our families aren't exactly on the best of terms."

"Tell me something I don't know. Degwin's taking control of the government and my father call's yours a bunch of murderers."

"I know, I know. You see Ramba in my opinion this has been going on for far too long. The Zabis and the Rals have always been the two pillars of support for Zeon and with the passing of Chairman Deikun it's clear that we'll need to work together in order to defend Side 3 from the bigger threat, the Federation. Too much blood has been spilled recently and with the attacks on yourself as well as the bombing of my brothers. It's clear that we need to establish peace before this petty feud of ours becomes a full fledged Civil War."

"What exactly are you intending. Creating a Zabi Dictatorship?" _'Not yet. That's Phase Six of the plan.'  
_  
"Look. After Deikun's passing, my father and I were discussing about creating a coalition government with the Ral faction and try and work on a solution for Deikun's successor. That was going to be the plan, until your father started making false claims of murder and was about to have you partake in a conspiracy to brainwash the Deikun children." Ramba then opens his mouth to reply before I interrupt him. "You can't just deny that wasn't his intent, as your father has absolutely no proof to backup his claim and he has been acting extremely irrationally since then. Besides you can even come to our house where you can meet the children for yourself and see how well we've taken care of them or how we haven't been feeding them stories about how you were responsible for the death of their father. What I want is to create a compromise for both sides. It's clear that Jimba Ral is never going to drop his claims so he needs to enter into voluntary exile, on Earth. As for you Ramba, it's clear so far that you are not as insane as your father or that you've made any moves against us. So you can keep everything that belongs to the Ral name and your current place in the military. When father becomes Prime Minister, he'll look over your father's actions and we can move forward to creating a better nation for the people of Zeon."

"You think that you can just make demands to me like that Gihren? The Ral's still have several supporters on Side 3 and Degwin Zabi is not Prime Minister yet. We won't be pushed around like some pawns in your plan."

"Yes, but as your surely must have noticed the number of people actively supporting the Ral's is shrinking everyday while the number of people demanding your head is growing high. Since you're not a politician like me I guess you haven't noticed yet that Parliment is already moving forward for a vote and my father is already the frontrunner for Prime Minister with all the promises of support we've been receiving from MP's." That sure sets his bravado back as Ramba is shocked at my revelations. "While many people still believe that the Federation is responsible for the death of Deikun and my brother's bombing, the people are rising against the Ral's at the same time due to your father's actions that make him a suspect as well. So it's either you cooperate with us or your body is going to be found in some back alley, having been put there by fanatics who support the ideals of my family.

"So even if I do agree with this and send my father away what are you going to do with me. Are you going to make me Dozle's subordinate, a puppet to appeal to your opposition, or are you just going to dispose of me quietly so that you can go unopposed?"

"Ramba I'm not so blind to the family feud as to not recognize your potential as an officer. While most of my family may just see you as a spawn of a lunatic, I see a bright young officer who can lead our brave men and women on the front lines if we ever find the need to defend are right's against the Federation. You graduated from the academy at the top of your class and have risen rapidly through the ranks, even my brother Dozle speaks highly of you. So Ramba while I do have you in my plans for the future, they are ones that can benefit you as well as the people of Zeon. No strings attached, just an honest patriot appealing to another."

"Does this have anything to do with the Mobile Suit Project I've been hearing about?"

I kept my poker face on but I was sure surprised. "How do you know about that?"

"It's not a open secret as I only learned about it from some of my buddies in R&D who said that the logistics department was working with them on the development of Mobile Suits and their potential uses for the military. I didn't really think there would be a future for them but then I heard that some of the Zabi's are acting as patrons of it. So is that your endgame Gihren? You want me as a soldier for some war with the Federation that you are plotting.?"

"I'm not plotting to start a war, I'm plotting for _when_ we will be pulled into a war. The Federation has been extending it's reach far too much and as of right now they're taking steps to take away the liberties of Spacenoids and make it so that all of Space is ruled directly from Jaburo. In order for us to keep our independence we're going to need to fight for it. If the Federation wants peace then fine, we'll have just increased our stockpiles and we'll move on. But if the Federation will deny us our basic rights and when they will attack us, well then I plan to defend our homes and take the fight to those bastards doorstep. I can't do these without leaders though. Without men like you."

Ramba takes another swig from his glass and it's clear he's starting to get intrigued by it. "I'm no pilot though and I only had a passing interest in robotics when I was in high school. There's no way I'd be a pilot in one of those Mobile Suits."

"Just think about first. You can't deny that you're not good at something until you've tried it." I then give him a card and then pack up my coat to leave. "If you are willing to agree to my terms then call this number and we can discuss the final details. If you have no further questions then I'll make my exit."

Ramba then stands up and faces me. "What exactly is your endgame Gihren? You try and make yourself off as the nice guy who only has everyone's interests before his. But I've met you many times in the past and I can tell that the Zabi family is plotting to become more than civil servants. The people of Side 3 aren't just your personal playthings for your own advancement. Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

"It's as I told you before. I'm working for the welfare and independence of all of Side 3. Nothing more, nothing less." I then make my way out of the building and give the bartender a tip. One of Kycillia's men comes out at the same time and escorts me home.

 **Ramba Ral POV October 15th, 0068. 11:15 A.M  
**  
I wake up on the side of my bed with a massive headache due to a semi-hangover from all the drinks last night. After Gihren left I then went over to talk to Hamon who instantly slapped me for bringing her up in front of Gihren. For the rest of the night I talked with Hamon and told her about what Gihren offered and my plans and ideas for the immediate future. She agreed with me that Gihren and the Zabi's are up to something but she said that his offer isn't that bad and that I should try and save face before dad tries to pull anything else. She also said that if I do go through with the plan that she has contacts in the port for a quiet escape and that if I'm ever in any trouble I can always count on her. _'God I love that woman.'_ I make my way downstairs where I'm going to get some breakfast and try and see if I can convince dad on going along with it. Maybe some time on Earth can help him clear things with the natural air. As I walk down I start to notice that things are quiet in the house, too quiet. While mom is usually out with her girlfriends around this time, the rest of the servants in the house should be in the house and I should here some of their activities.

I enter the kitchen and I can also see that our personal chef, Pierre is also gone. "Pierre? You taking a break? Mom, Dad? Anyone home?" I walk up the fridge to get some orange juice to wake me up when I notice a note attached to the door. I pick it up and read it.

 _"Dear Son,_

 _If you are reading this right now then that means that I am no longer in the house. I've already fired all of the help if that's what you're wondering. I won't be needing them any longer after today. Right now I will be enacting my great mission to liberate Side 3 from the wretched Zabi's and make sure that Deikun's legacy will be forever protected. If you're waking up late in the day then you may notice the news reports and how they'll call me a terrorist for my actions. I want you to know that I am not that. What I am doing is a great crusade to liberate our nation free from Degwin and his spawn so that my future grandchildren may grow up in peace and freedom. I leave everything in the Ral name to you and I hope you'll do me proud. Protect the legacy of our family and the people of Zeon._

 _Sincerely, your loving father Jimba"_

 _'Terrorist? Just what the hell does he mean...oh God no. Please don't let this be what I think it is.'_ I then rush down to the basement where my worst fears appear to be true. All of the stored guns are no longer to be seen along with all of the ammunition. I rush over to the table where I a well drawn plan. All of it includes details on how to attack Parliament. _'No. NO,NO,NO,NO! This cannot be, are you really that stupid father?! No wonder Gihren was trying to bargain with me. He was trying to save you before you ever committed this fucking plan.'_ I rushed back to my room and put on my uniform as fast as I can while putting on my pistol. I go to the garage and get into my Toyota Titan. Blasting it into full throttle and charging the gates so that I can get onto the streets. I then pick up the radio. "All units of the Zeon Defense Force this is Captain Ramba Ral. There is an attack going on at the capitol as we speak. All units please respond. As soon as I end my broadcast I can see an explosion far off into the distance. _'I'm already too late.'_  
 **  
Kaiser Gihren POV  
**  
It was a lovely morning today and I had just finished a session earlier with father where Parliment had just decided to go along with the vote to be scheduled later today. As a little celebration for the widely anticipated victory I had called for Dozle and Kycillia to meet me in father's office where we were to have a little family lunch. It was a delightful little affair and for once it felt like we were a normal family. We were just in the middle of finishing up our meal and were making small talk. "Congratulations on your pre-election to Prime Minister father. With the Zabi's in power Zeon will truly prosper and all of its citizens will be amazed by your rule."

"That extremely flattering of you Gihren but you must remember that everything hasn't been decided yet. While I am clear to win, anything can happen with the opposition. We shouldn't hold all our eggs in one basket. just yet. Who knows what the future holds."

Degwin then steps out of his chair and I see a bright flash of right behind him in the window. Considering what happened only last week with my brother's and our line of work that can only mean one thing. I jump up and then tackle Degwin to the ground while I yell to Kycillia and Dozle, "Sniper! Get down!" Then the sound of a shot came.


	9. Die Hard 0068

After I heard the shot come I turned my head up and looked around to see what had happened. I couldn't see Dozle and Kycillia but Degwin was lying directly under and so far he looked uninjured with the exception of a couple of bruises that he had received from the fall. Ironically the one place where the shot had made its mark was a self-portrait of Degwin, with the round hitting dead center in the forehead. I quickly then reach out to the desk and push a button so that the steel curtains could fill up the windows, everyone of the government offices had them installed in case of a hole in the colony appearing. It took around five seconds for the walls to close with another shot to come though, with sheer luck we managed to escape as the round just hit the wall, apparently we either had really great cover or the sniper was a crappy shot. Finally with our safety from the sniper secured I stood up and saw that Dozle and Kycillia were on the ground with Dozle acting as a human shield for our sister with his large body, it was nice to see that we still cared deeply for each other in times of crisis. "Is everyone okay? No shots or wounds?" I ask.

"We're fine Gihren, Dozle protected me and I don't see any blood on his shirt so it looks like there wasn't any stray shrapnel. Don't worry father, I'll make sure that whoever did this shall pay for attempting to strike you down."

I then made my way over to the landline we're I dialed in the number for security, someone slipped up today and I needed answers straight away. "Hello, Capitol Guard? This is Secretary Gihren Zabi, my family and I we're just having lunch when some sniper attempted to assassinate my father from a window across the street. Send a full detachment to our location and get as many men as you can to catch the culprit." I waited for a response but then fear starts to enter my body when I heard the sound of a gunfight going on in the background. Whatever was happening it looked like we weren't the only targets.

"Secretary Zabi, this is Captain Jones, the Capitol is under heavy fire from dozens of terrorists that are storming the building. We're pinned down right now so hold up while we send men for a res..shit! We've got three tangos in the hallway, pin them dow..." "Your call has been disconnected. Please hang up and dial the number again." I then hung up the phone and immediately an immense wave of panic started to enter. Until now I had mostly been safe in whatever I did through the extensive network of protection that my family had, I was the puppet-master and all of the consequences that came about were beneath me. Now I was in the middle of an terrorist attack we're one stray bullet could end my life. What would happen if I died? Would I go back to my original life? Would there be an afterlife? Nothing? It was all clear to me now, this wasn't just a fantasy of a mecha anime any more. This was real life, this was reality. I was then snapped out of my morbid thoughts with Dozle waving his arms in my face and trying to get a response.

"Gihren, what happened? What's going on outside?"

"Well guys, it appears that what just happened is not just limited to a lone sniper targeting us. The capitol is currently being targeted by some terrorist organization. Whatever is happening we must assume the worst and that no backup is coming and that we might have terrorist swarming this office any minute. We need to take desicive action or Garma and Sasro will soon become orphans and our dreams of the Principality will be lost." I then made my way to the bookcase next to the wall and opened up a secret panel we're the case opened up to reveal a series of rifles and pistols up on a rack. Call it paranoia but we had decided early on in father's political career that wherever our location we'd always have some sort of weapons as backup. It may not exactly be legal but I'm sure we've got bigger worries to deal with than gun control laws.

"Gihren what are you suggesting? Your not trying to play some sort of hero are you?" asks Degwin concerned.

"Father we can just sit around doing nothing but the longer we wait the higher chance we have of letting the terrorists swarm our position and outnumbering us. I say we take some initiative and take the fight to the bastards front doorstep." I then toss some rifles to Kycillia and Dozle while I give a pistol to my father."Here's the plan. Dozle and I will take the heavy weaponry and we'll go towards the capitol to try and find out what exactly is going on while looking for help. Kycillia, I need you to escort father out of here in any way you can. Dad's life is the most important and he's in no way to fight, so I'm trusting you to escort him safely out of here while we provide a distraction by heading the other way. You know the full layout of the building and all secret corridors so I expect you and father to get the hell out of here ASAP. The first opportunity you get, get in contact with the Defense Force and storm the Capitol. With luck both Dozle and I well still be alive and we'll have found who's responsible for this mess."

"Gihren are you crazy? You're going to get yourself killed running out there like that. Dozle may be okay because he has military training but your nothing but a civilian. We're family so we should stick together. I've nearly lost one brother last week and I'm not going to lose you too." Kycillia says with tears forming in her eyes. I can finally see in this moment how much of a change I've created. She really does care whether or not I live or die. I then grab a hold of my sister and try and calm her down.

"Listen to me Kycillia. It's because I trust you so much that I'm putting father's life in your hands. He is going to be the next Sovereign and I will not see the legacy of the Zabi's die today in any form. Dozle and I may die but you can still live on and carry the dream of Zeon. I have faith that one day you may surpass me as a leader and lead our people to greatness. You have so much potential dear sister that you can't even realize yet how far you will go. I love all of you and it's because of this that I'm about to undergo this venture. So be strong for father so that your big brothers will go out and catch the son of a bitch who did this. Don't you worry about me anyways. I've been training with Dozle every week for the past two years so I'm a pretty damn good shot if I do say so myself."

Kycillia then returns my embrace fully, it's quite funny how all it took for us to have a good bonding moment was an attempt on our lives. "Who are you and what have you done with Gihren?"

"I'm still the same older brother sister. It's just that I've finally learned what family means." I then let go and get all of my gear sorted our so that I have my pistol in a holster with several magazines for both it and the assault rifle. In the end it looked like I was gearing up to go for Nam. After some final minutes of preparation we're all ready to head out and I open the door for us to make our way. As soon as I open it noise instantly fills the hallway of firefights and screams of death. I turn back to Kycillia and Degwin. "Make sure to follow the underground path and run as fast as you can without looking back. When you reach a phone make sure that Garma, Sasro, and the Deikuns are alright then evacuate them to a safehouse. With luck this will all be over at sunrise and we can laugh about it at dinner."

"Take care of yourself Gihren, Dozle. You boys are supposed to be burying me one day, not the other way around. Besides, I haven't become a grandpa yet and I'm going to make damn sure you give me some grandchildren one day."

"Sure thing Dad. Besides I have a feeling that Dozle is going to be the first one out of all of us." I say with Dozle looking a bit abashed at my comment. He hasn't met Zenna yet but I have faith that one day they'll end up together and give us Mineva. If I'm going to be an uncle then I'll do everything in my power to make sure that my first niece is the Princess of Axis. I'm also going to make damn sure that she doesn't fall into the hands of Haman Karn or that whiny brat Banagher. But if we're going to reach that point then it's time focus on staying alive in the present. "You ready to kick some ass and save the day Dozle?"

"I was born ready Gihren. Those scum will rue the day that they ever crossed Dozle Zabi!"

"Good luck everyone and stay alive." I say. Dozle and I then head down in the direction of Parliment while Kycillia and Degwin make their way to the outside.

Togther Dozle and I made our way down the hallways and it wasn't but five minutes that we encountered our first targets. It was a group of men taking a smoke around a pile of bodies that had the uniforms of security guards. It was entirely disrespectful to the dead and I would make sure those poor souls rested in peace by avenging their deaths. I signal Dozle to get ready and then I throw a grenade at the targets. The five men scramble in panic but it's too late as the explosive comes off and we lay down fire on their bodies. Immediately two fall down and I notice that one of my rounds is a headshot on a large Hispanic man, just now I had made my first kill. Back then in my old life I never really had any conflict so while I did constantly go to the gun range there was never any need to protect myself. And while I had caused the deaths of many Feddie agents and dissidents in the past two years they were all indirectly and through pawns of the family. Now I had taken a man's life with my own hands, him never walking up again. I try and see if I feel any regret but nothing comes up. Maybe it's because I was protecting my family or that these men were nothing but murderers, but in the end I felt little different then before. I should definitely talk to a priest or councilor later and see if this is normal, because if it is then I don't want to know what would cause me PTSD. The men try and return fire but Dozle and I take our time and aim for their bodies, time being on our side due to the suprise attack. We finally managed to gun them all down but it appeared that one man, a fit Caucasian, was left alive. Dozle was about to take him out but I put my hand up and have him stand down. Whatever was going on we needed answers and this guy was our best bet. I make my way over to the man and pull up his ski mask we're he's coughing up blood. "Talk, right now. Why are you attacking Parliment and who is the target? Who hired you to do all this?"

He then grins and spits some blood right into my face. "Fuck you! You Zabi piece of trash!" I wiped it out and looked at this man in disgust. It was clear now that my family was one of the primary targets. Although it also looked like the person responsible may be trying to bring down all of Side 3. I motion Dozle over and then he promptly brings up a knife and stabs it in the man's foot. He screams in agony over the new flesh wound that he received.

"Listen here right now. From the looks of your wound I'd say you have a 50/50 percent chance to live." says Dozle. "If you cooperate with us then we'll tend to you and lock you in this Janitor's closet right next to us. If you refuse to give out any information then you'll die in this hallway with nothing left to be remembered by except being a part of the worst terrorist attack since Laplace. If that happens then I'll give you two options. Either you can die instantly with a shot to your brain, or I can make sure to carve you up nice and slowly so that it'll be hours of misery before your sent to hell. Either way you die and we move on. So choose." Dozle then stabs the knife in his other foot while the man screams louder this time. I've got to hand it to my brother, Kycillia may be the one who runs SpecOps in our family, but Dozle clearly had the capabilities to become a member of the CIA.

The terrorist then cries in pain and tries desperately to plea with us. "Okay, okay, I'll talk. Just please leave me alone. I don't want to die! Not today!" Dozle rips the knife out which causes more blood to appear. He then shakes his head in shame.

"Damn coward. You're willing to commit such an atrocity but you won't even risk your own life for the cause. Now talk first and then we can see on dressing your wounds. Answer my brother's questions."

"Look it was just a one time job. We're all poor men from around Side 3 and each one of us is either hired muscle or has some beef with the government, primarily you Zabi's. It was a load of cash that we received so the job was going to be worth it in the end if we escaped. Our orders were to storm the building and kill as many pro-Zabi MP's as we could with primary orders to take our your family. If we did then it was a huge offer of $1 Million Credits with bonuses from your sister all the way to Degwin. The man who hired us was none other than the you're greatest political enemy. Jimba Ral." Dozle and I stare at each other with some shock at the news. Although we knew that Jimba would take some action against us we didn't possibly think that he would do something this crazy and involve so many innocents. I was too stupid by just hoping that Ramba would be able to convince his father to go to Earth peacefully. It was clear that whatever happened in Gundam was starting to get thrown out the window and that anything goes. From now on I should try and prepare for any possible scenario rather than just doing my actions based on the show. It does wage the question though, was Ramba involved?

"Where you involved in the death of Zeon Deikun, or bombing that tried to kill my brothers? Also is Ramba Ral involved in this?" I question. My face fuming with anger.

"What? No? I would never do anything that would kill Zeon Deikun. He was a hero to me. I also don't know if your brothers were also targeted. I only got hired for this one job and from what I could tell it seemed like this was his final, desperate attempt. As for the boss's son I can't tell if he's in on this or not. When we were planning this whole thing the boss liked to keep it hush-hush from his wife an kid. I can't tell you much of the planning. I'm just a grunt." I nod my head in satisfaction at the information. We had gotten enough and it appeared that Ramba would be innocent of this whole affair. We then ask him some more questions about the movements of his comrades and then Dozle tends to his wounds and leaves him in the closet like he promised. While he may live another day I did not say anything about keeping him from Kycillia's wrath. So he would still get his just due in the end. From the information we gathered it appears that most of the terrorists tried to target the chambers. His group only appeared here because they were scouting our to check if father was in his office.

Dozle and I then proceed to search the wing where we start to clear it of any enemies. It took around half an hour but we managed to take down around a dozen more targets and had come out relatively unscathed. From the appearance on the corpses it's clear that these men don't have much in terms of equipment beyond the basic stock of arms and the occasional bullet proof vest for the leader. After doing some patrols we then head north to the center of the capitol to try and check out Parliament and see if it's okay. As we head further down the path the bodies start to mount up in the corridors and it looks as if its a warzone with all of the debris and blood lying around. We managed to run into some guard patrols and from the intel we've gathered it appears as though security hasn't given up the fight yet and that reinforcements are starting to poor in as we speak. Dozle and I enter the North Wing and we crouch up to Jimba's office to see if the bastard is still in there or if there's any intel we can gather from his belongings. Dozle kicks down the door but we soon face a problem as we look down and face 10 terrorists lying about around the desk, Jimba nowhere in sight. "Zabi scum! Get them!" Yells a buff black man who looks to be one of the leaders.

Luckily Dozle opens fire first and is able to mow down most of them with the submachine gun he picked up. Unfortunately they are able to fire back and a stray round grazes my cheek where blood starts to come out. I manage to take down two guys but unfortunately one of them jumps on me with a knife were we engage in hand-to-hand. Although he was far stronger than me, I had made sure to have Dozle train me in CQC, so I had the superior technique and quality when it came to the method of fighting. It took all of my strength and a hell of a lot of adrenaline, but I was able to overpower the guy and stab him in the chest with the knife, putting him down for the count. I wasn't in the clear yet however as I turn around and see a barrel facing directly towards me. "We'll it looks like today is a good day for me. You see you're quite the high bounty Zabi scum, $5 Mil for your head alone. I'm about to become the richest man in the colonies." Before he's about to pull the trigger a shot is fired and his head is blown off. I turn around to thank who I assumed to be my brother, only to to come face to face with Ramba Ral.

"What are you doing here Ramba? Come to finish the job yourself?"

"Oh please Zabi. I may not be a fan of your family and I certainly as hell don't like you, but I am a member of the Defense Force and it is my sword duty to protect all citizens of Zeon from harm. And that includes you." He then offers me a hand and pulls me back up where I then proceed to collect my rifle. Dozle comes out of the office after finishing the job where he sees Ramba and assumes that he is going to attack me.

"Get the hell away from my brother Ral. If you don't shoot then I'll make sure to make your death quick and painless." I then step forward in front of Ramba and offer my body as a shield.

"Don't shoot Dozle! Believe it or not I actually owe my life to Ramba so you killing him won't solve anything. Let's hear him out and at least see what he has to say." Dozle then relaxes his stance a bit but still has his gun trained on Ramba.

"Thank you. As your brother just said I did just come in here and save him from a meeting with death so I appreciate the congratulations. If you're wondering about my involvement, yes I do know that my father is behind this but I just learned about an hour ago and I didn't even have a clue of what was going on until today. As far as I can tell this is Dad's insane suicide mission to finally rid Zeon of your family once and for all. I'm convinced that he's gone insane as all he's been rambling about this past week is 'Zabi plots' and how we were reaching Armageddon. I admit that I should've taken action sooner but I had no idea that he was capable of this. At least in my darkest thoughts I thought he would just go after you, not all of Parliament. I came in here as fast as possible and headed straight for his office to try and get him to stop this. By the looks of things it appears that we're all too late. So we can stand around and point guns at each other in a Mexican standoff all day or we can head out and bring my dad to justice. As his son it is my responsibility to clean up his mess after all."

Dozle still looks reluctant but it appears that Ramba's argument won him over as he proceeds to lower his weapon. I then turn to both men and address them. "Alright guys. Now that we got all the drama sorted out it's time that we take back the capitol. I'm guessing by now that with the amount of men we've taken, as well as the ones put down by the guard, the enemy probably has most of their men depleted by now. I say we head straight for the parliametary chambers and try and take control until reinforcements arrive. If we run into Jimba then we'll decide how to...take care of him once he's no longer a threat. Ramba you take the lead while Dozle is center and I'll cover the rear. Let's end this, right here right now!"

Dozle and Ramba followed my plan and soon we proceeded to head down the capitol, taking down any opposition that we came across in a quick and brutal fashion. After fifteen minutes we're able to reach the chambers and when we enter it's a sight seen straight from one of the post 9/11 attacks back in my time. Bodies of MP's are laid all over the place with blood painting the carpets red and bits of flesh strewn all around the floor. it seems like the men and women within here were all discussing the vote when they were mercilessly torn down by the terrorists. Ramba is about to head down when I notice the presence of some gunmen near the podium, aiming for his body. "Duck!" I yell out. Ramba and the rest of us then hit straight for the rows in a crouch as bullets came across his position. One of the bodies of the MP's is covering my front when I look up and see two gunmen surrounding the men responsible for this mess. Jimba Ral.

"Well look at what we have here. The spawn of Degwin has come to pay me a visit. I was going to head out and search you by myself, but this saves me the trouble of having to make too much of an effort. It's a shame your father isn't here right now. If I do find him though then I'll make sure to tell him that you boys said hi." He then looks to our positions where he sees Ramba sticking his head out. "Ah Ramba my boy. Glad you deciding to join your old man in all of the fun. I see that you managed to trick these two idiots into trusting you and led them straight to me. Be a good little boy and end them so that we can move on to Degwin."

"You're a sick man dad! I know the Zabi's aren't perfect but that doesn't mean you have to kill them, and you especially shouldn't take the lives of innocent people who are getting caught up in our family feud. Just what exactly is it that you see in these people anyways? They're nothing more than opportunistic politicians, not the second coming of Hitler. _'Oh you do not know how ironic that statement is.'  
_  
"I can't believe it! My own son has been brainwashed by the Zabi's. What a tragedy this is. Even if I accomplish all of my goals, it will all be for naught if the legacy of the Ral family lies in you. Do you not see Ramba? They are the enemy! Ever since I first meet Degwin Zabi I knew that this man was out for Zeon Zum Deikun. He's nothing more than a dock worker who reaped off of Deikun's accomplishments like a filthy parasite so that he could one day take control of Zeon. And he has already done it. Degwin Zabi killed Zeon Deikun, Degwin Zabi stole his children, Degwin Zabi turned the public against us, and now Degwin Zabi is probably plotting to take control of the Earth sphere. Doing this is the only way to guarantee peace in the colonies. These people are monsters!"

"The only monster I see is the man standing in front of me. A lunatic who would commit mass murder just because of some petty grudge that only exists in his delusional mind." Ramba then proceeds to walk down the own aisle towards his father, while Jimba's henchmen look on unsure due to the possibility of retaliation for striking down their bosses son. Jimba also looks like he's about to have a panic attack as he is literally shaking with his pistol pointed at Rama and going up and down.

"Don't you dare come any closer Ramba. If you do then I will shoot you where you stand. You don't want that do you? For your own father to be forced to take the life of his only child?"

"If you are already considering taking my life then you have failed in every way as a parent. I am ashamed to call you my father." With this distraction coming on I manage to communicate with Dozle and we both pull out flashbangs were we proceed to launch them at the group below. Everyone near the dais is temporarily blinded, including Ramba, and then we proceed to mow down the two grunts flocking Jimba. I then rush down the aisle and tackle Jimba with the fury of J.J Watt. I quickly disarm the man and point my pistol in his face. With Jimba soon regaining his vision, only to look directly into the barrel of my AP.45.

"Jimba Ral for the crimes of treason, terrorism, mass murder, and endangerment to the public, I Gihren Alexander Zabi sentence you to-" I am about to pull the trigger, unleashing my inner fury at the man who dared to take the lives of myself and my family. Then my inner conciseness, the part of my that is my old self, holds back on the trigger. I look back to Ramba Ral where I can see him staring us down, pleading with his eyes not to do it. Although the man before me may have become the greatest criminal in all of space, it's clear that Ramba still loves him as a father and doesn't want to see him die before his eyes. If I pull the trigger, then I will cause the deep hatred of another man, continuing the endless feud with the only results being more death and misery. So, with EXTREME reluctance, I let my index finger slowly slide away from the trigger. "arrest by the state and for immediate imprisonment until a formal trial. I may not end your life today, but you will face justice before all the people of Zeon. Go to hell." I then knock Jimba's head off with the but of my pistol and check his pulse, the man is unconscious, but still alive. I give the thumbs up to Ramba and he immediately sighs in relief.

The next second the doors to the Parlimentary chamber open where the State Security forces and members of the Defense Force come rushing in to secure the area. To the back I can see that Kycillia and father are there, and they appear to be unscathed. I then sit back and push my gun away as the paramedics arrive to tend to our injuries while Jimba is escorted away by Security Officers. Kycillia and father come running towards us with Kycillia embracing both me and Dozle in a hug while Degwin looks on. It appears that he is immensely happy, we all managed to come out unscathed and live another day. Our plans would continue while the rise of the Principality moved forward, interrupted but not cancelled. _'Hey, it's just another day in the life of Gihren Zabi.'_


	10. Revelations

**October 16th, 0068. Jaburo, Brazil. Jorge Marcenas POV**  
 _  
'God I really hate my job sometimes.'_ These were my thoughts as I slowly made my way through the subterranean base on the way to the interplanetary security meeting. When I was growing up, I was feed tales upon tales of the numerous proud achievements of the Marcenas family, how we were protectors of the Earth Sphere and defenders of the Universal Century. This drove my dedication to become an elected official and helped give me plenty of enthusiasm during my early years as an representative in Lhasa. It wasn't until 0064 that all of my hard work paid off and I was finally elected to the position of Prime Minister, succeeding my much older brother Georges. When the work finally began though, it soon became clear that the position of Prime Minister was little more than head jailer on the colonies, using my power to keep them in line and keep the shipments going between Earth and the colonies going. Oh sure I had done some good in my first term, passed some welfare reform, began the process of Federation rearmament, pass a bill which would start the reconstruction program on Earth in order to clean the environment; yet at the end of the day the problems of the Federation would always point back to the colonies. It's not like I was against the colonies having some rights, it's just that they couldn't get silly notions into their head of independence, that's all. We wouldn't even be in this mess in the first place if my idiotic predecessors hadn't decided to basically launch over 80% of humanity into space by force. Now these colonials started to see the walls of steel and titanium as their home rather than the soil of the Earth. We were far too dependent on the colonies for their manufactured goods and energy production, one single event was all that was needed to bring the entire Earth Sphere into ruin. Which brings me back into focus on the current topic of the meeting, Side 3, or the Republic of Zeon as they like to call it now.

I entered the command bunker of the Hexagon at Jaburo where I can already see that everyone else has arrived before me. Sitting down was Rear Admiral Edward Tianem of the 4th Fleet, General Andre Buchanan of the Ground Forces, Secretary of Colonial Relations Sarah Goldberg, Interplanetary Security Advisor Sergei Zhukov, and finally Rear Admiral Jamitov Hymen of Federal Intelligence. I could trust the capabilities and leadership of most of the people here except for that damned Hymen. He struck me too much as a cross between J. Edgar Hoover and Heinrich Himmler, always 10 steps ahead of everyone else and mad with power. Rumor was that he had a huge file in his office that had dirt on every politician and soldier on Earth ( I was clean for the most part but there were some aspects of my life I did not want the public to see). I sat down in the front seat which signaled the beginning of the meeting. "Alright everyone now that we are all in attendance it is time to begin the major topic on everyone's mind for the past few days, Side 3. Andre I'd like to hear your reports of the recent terrorist attack that took place."

The tall black man straightened up and put on his reading glasses which he used to read the file in front of him, "Prime Minister, as we all know at 1130 hours yesterday at GMT, an attack on the capitol of Side 3 in Munzo City proceeded under the direct command of local MP, Jimba Ral. At the time although we do not have a clear motive for attack, it is heavily presumed that the intent was to rid the government of the Zabi faction, a somewhat right-wing political faction of the SDSP under the direction of Degwin Zabi. local Defense forces were quick to respond to the attack and arrived promptly around 30 minutes, surrounding the building and sending special forces inside to deal with the terrorists." When Buchanan said that he let out a grunt in annoyance, it was clear that he was hoping that the Federal Forces would arrive on the scene first so that we could have a pretense for martial law. Something that didn't happen as the local garrison commander took over 2 Hours before mobilization. What he was doing that time was unknown, though it was clear that there would be much questioning over neglect of duty. Buchanan cleared his throat and continued. "The attack took a total time between one and thirty-three minutes, during that time an estimated over 200 civilians, bureaucrats, and politicians died from the attackers with over 300 wounded. The main attack finally came to an end at 1254 when the leader of the terrorists was captured by Dozle and Gihren Zabi, and his own son Ramba Ral." _'Hmm, interesting. I wonder if my nephew Ronan would have the guts to take me on.'_ As of right now the suspects are being questioned though there has been fierce resistance to cooperation with Federal Forces and intelligence. I'll let Secretary Goldberg take over on the political side of things." Buchanan then sat down and motioned Goldberg to take center stage.

"Prime Minister, according to reports from the other Sides, everything appears to be stable at the moment and nothing has gone in the way of unrest besides some fear and anxiety over the possibility of attacks in their homes. The situation is much the same over Side 3 with the exception of Defense and Federal forces shutting down the local spaceports at the time to try and uncover if a larger plot is unraveling. The same could not be said for the Munzo colony as attacks had once again started against the Ralist organizations and individuals present there. The situation thankfully did not scale into full fledged riots when a video was released onto the new Zeonet site of YouTube by Gihren Zabi on his personal YouTube channel, Kaiser Gihren. In it Gihren made a joint speech with Ramba Ral denouncing Jimba Ral's actions and calling for peace within the colony so that Zeon could move forward with fair elections and that they wouldn't have any more suffering from last weeks events. The video seemed to do the trick as by nightfall the crowds have largely dispersed back to their homes, albeit under a forced curfew, and not much has happened except for a few case incidents under rogue individuals. Special Elections have been called for next month and it is highly anticipated that the Zabi faction will gain control. Earlier today Degwin Zabi was announced as interim Prime Minister with his son Gihren taking on the role of Vice Prime Minister, most likely due to his actions in the attack. They are both expected to retain their until after the elections. That is all."

I was about to raise my voice to comment on the matter until Hymen interrupted me, "You've all failed. Now the situation is far worse than we could've imagined"

At that Tianem raised his voice in reply, "What are you going on about Jamitov? I swear you're too damn paranoid for your own good."

Hymen instantly flared when being accused by this and yelled in reply,"Paranoid? PARANOID?! You're calling me too goddamn paranoid when you are to blame for this mess?! You could've easily come in with the 4th Fleet and declared martial law, taking control of Side 3 and ending this whole nonsense of independence. But did you? Nooo. Instead those anarchists and rebels go about prancing without any authority or control. Did I set up the assassination of Zeon Zum Deikun for nothing?!"

At the instant mention of that deed the rest of the council quickly darkened in their mood.. Earlier last month Jamitov came to us with a report that his spies had stolen an early draft of some of Deikun's speeches which detailed a clear motion for independence from the Earth Sphere and for the evolution of Newtypes to take precedence. At first this would've been ignored and a later blockade of Side 3 instituted by the Space Forces with the garrisons storming out to take control. What did set the council towards the assassination of Deikun however, was when Syam Vist came to visit Jaburo around the same time and informed Hymen that agents on Side 3 have been actively searching for Laplace's Box. _'Once again, another situation started by that damned box.'_ Laplace's Box was something that I was not proud of at all as it was nothing more than some piece of blackmail that a family of terrorists and art collectors have been using over my family for the past near seven decades. Once word had reached that Side 3 knew of the box's existence, Jamitov started ranting about how Deikun was going to steal the box, or somehow obtained a copy of it, and was going to use it to back up his deceleration. What made the situation even more worse, was word from Intelligence on Side 3 of the activities of the Flanagan Institute. It appeared from the word of our agents that Newtype research was underway and that they had proven their existence with some of the earliest tests of their students. The agents were unfortunately unable to stop it as the place was too well guarded by the Defense Forces for some major sabotage, thus they had to resort to malfunctioning equipment and messing with financials. If Zeon Deikun had presented the Newtype findings with Laplace's Box, then the Federation was done for. The colonies would rise up in revolt and the Earth Sphere descending into chaos. Thus, for the greater good, we all agreed that Deikun had to be eliminated. Unfortunately, when our agents found out Deikun's speech contents later on, they had found out that no mention of Laplace's Box was in there. Meaning that some other force now knew of the box's existence. "Jamitov, we can't exactly go in and declare marital law when the situation had been under control by the local forces. We'd look nothing more like a bunch of conquerors and we'd only be giving fuel to the flames for the resistance by those Spacenoids. Deikun is dead and most of the government was fortunately eliminated by the actions of Jimba Ral, which was quite fortunate considering we didn't have a hand in his actions." I'd say we got the crisis behind us and we can now move on."

Advisor Zhukov then sat up and spoke out," I'm afraid you're wrong on that Prime Minister, and that I'll have to agree with Admiral Hymen on this one. For the past two years, Zeon has been developing their technology and an unprecedented rate in scientific development. Our top mechanics in the Engineering Corps say that their inventions are possibly thirty years in advancement. With this Side 3 is actively pushing to become the economic powerhouse of the colonies and may one day come to a point where any economic sanctions we lay on them may have no effect and they'll be self-sufficient. This, along with their expansion into the Solar System may one day have them rival Earth in terms of resources. Last of all we cannot forget the increasing armament that their Defense Force has begun, why else would they be doing that except to go to war?"

"Exactly, and you've only made the situation worse by leaving the Zabi's in power. Why else did you think I tried to eliminate them with that bomb." says Jamitov. Again the bombing of Sasro and Dozle Zabi was something that was due to the Federation, this time though Jamitov acted unilaterally. He only informed us after the event had gone down and his reasons were due to the fact that he believed the Zabi's were behind the virtual elimination of Federal Intelligence on Side 3 and the loss of what he decried to be some of his key assets. I had one of my loyal informants in Intelligence look into it and he said that Jamitov had gotten all riled up because most of the losses were several of his key assets. Men that I had no knowledge of in their identity like Bask Om and Jamaican Daningham. This made Hymen a very paranoid man and he saw the Zabi's as the problem. Speaking of, "The Zabi's are the most militaristic of Side 3 and they have actively been gearing up Zeon for war. That bitch Kycillia is probaly responsible for the loss in agents while I'm pretty damn sure that Sasro is the cause of the anti-Federal sentiment in not only Side 3, but Lagrange 4 as well. Lastly I've been my few informants left have been telling me that their oldest, Gihren is on the move. He was responsible for the whole Newtype nonsense and he's pushing for the Defense Force to militarize Mobile Suits."

"Mobile Suits? Tianem says with a chuckle. "How could they ever outperform our Saber Fishes in space? Those robots are too damn slow and would be perfect targets for missiles. Say Andre? Isn't there someone in your department that's actually trying to do the same thing? What was his name? Reveille, Revy?"

"That's Ibrahim Revil and yes, he has been advocating for increased Mobile Suit usage. He's one of our brightest officers but at the same time he keeps on pushing for trillions to be poured into the budget for modernized ships and increased armarment Earthside. He's actually the one who came up with the 0070 Plan that I was talking to you about in terms of new classes for the Space Force, but I'm not going to spend to much on the Army. Our tanks are very advanced thank you very much and I'm sure that they can handle any robots." Buchanan responded.

"If we could get back to the topic at hand." said Zhukov. "Once again I do have to agree with Admiral Hymen in that the Zabi's are a major threat. While Deikun has been pushing for independence, these people were the ones responsible for the changes in Side 3. Another pressing issue that we must attend to is that of Newtypes. Hymen's reports confirm that they're more than some crazy nonsense that Deikun spouted. Soon by all estimated reports there could be hundreds of thousands living in the colonies by the end of the decade, maybe even on Earth. Think about it, a whole new super race of humans that can use their mind powers to control us. I say we eliminate Side 3 as soon as possible before they rise up against us."

"Surely there must be some diplomatic solution to this?" pleaded Goldberg. "We've been at a time of peace ever since the Universal Century had begun. It would be foolish to start a war now when it could lead to the possible loss of billions and the destruction of space."

"You are nothing more than a pacifistic fool, woman! Those cockroaches need to be crushed now!" said Jamitov

The council then erupted into a fury of arguments for the next five minutes with Zhukov and Hymen going for the war party while Goldberg, Buchanan, and Tianem were calling for restraint. It was quite frustrating to listen to but it gave me time to think of a solution. "Everyone SHUT UP!" I demanded by pounding my fist on the table. It sure got those blathering idiots to quite down. "Listen I know that the Zabi's can be a potential threat, but at the moment our hands are tied. Anti-Federation sentiment is at its highest on Side 3 and if any more action is taken then the colonies will rise up against us anyways and soon we will have a full fledged rebellion. I say we quietly let this slide and slowly start to place economic sanctions on them to bring them to heel. At the same time we'll go forward with the 0070 Plan so that we can modernize the Space Forces so that we'll be in control once a war situation begins. Lastly, I want Jamitov to start a new program to find all Newtypes on both Earth and the colonies. Try and hack into the Flanagan Institute and see if they have any data on what classifies as a Newtype and how to find them. We can also hire our own scientists to work on the issue so that we'll become independent of their research. If Newtypes exist then I want the full potential of their powers understood and for them to be used for the Federation. If there are any complaints then please speak them now."

Everyone was silent for a few moments until Jamitov spoke up again. "Your making a big mistake Prime Minister. There will be war with the colonies by 0080, and there's a high chance that the Federation will lose. End this before it begins."

"I've made my decision and it's final Jamitov. Perhaps when you become Prime Minister than you can blow up as many colonies as you want." _'God help us if that day comes.'  
_  
 **A/N: Jorge Marcenas is my OC and is the granduncle of Riddie Marcenas. So tell me what you guys thought. It appears that Jamitov strikes again and it's all because of Kaiser Gihren's actions. What will Kaiser Gihren do next? How long before we get Zakus? Find out on the next installment of Gihren's Glory!**


	11. Inauguration Day

**November 23rd, 0068, Side 3**

The month after the terrorist attack which was now called the Jimbajacking (a term Sasro and I had no part in its creation) was a pretty hectic one for the Zabi family. It wasn't at all because we were in any more danger, but rather because of the fact that all of us were constantly at work when awake, well with the exception of Garma of course. In the immediate aftermath of the attack after our little Zabi family moment, father and I took charge and we had proclaimed ourselves as interim Prime Minister and Vice Prime Minister respectively to try and round up the remains of the government and establish order in side 3. Nobody really objected because ironically a large majority of the MP's killed were either moderates or former members of the Ralist camp, either the thugs were insanely stupid or Jimba was just plain insane by believing they had formed a threat. Luckily no one was able to question my ability to lead in the aftermath due to my role in saving all of the MP's asses from getting killed by Jimba. We decided to establish a temporary marshal law and mobilized the entirety of the defense force to establish order in Zum City and shut off the spaceports so that any of Jimba's potential conspirators couldn't escape. Thankfully the Defense Force was able to mobilize 100% with an hour while the local Feddie garrison was still inside their bases, something Sasro was able to later exploit completely. During that time I made sure to call Zeon Academy and thankfully Garma and the Deikuns were escorted by the Secret Service at the start of the attack and they were hidden in a safehouse while I was shooting it up in the capitol. Sasro's hospital was also secured by the police so we didn't have to worry about any attempts on his life in his weakened state. When night still came there was still much work to be done as Dozle was on the streets with his men, Kycillia at Security HQ "questioning" the prisoners, and father and I working with the remnants of the government to establish new elections and answer questions to the news. At first there were attempted anti-Ral riots that were incited by some of our more zealous operatives, but Ramba and I came together in a joint video declaring Jimba's attack to be solely responsible with him and for peace to reign in Side 3 while the curfew was enforced. With the apparent message sent by the Zabi's for cooperation, most of our agents stepped down and the domestic peace was ensured, since then I had also gotten over 500 million views on the video and now have near 200,000 subscribers for my YouTube channel, shame Scarce wasn't around.

On the next day we came with an agreement with the rump parliament to hold special elections next month to elect new members for the legislature. In that time Sasro was able to come back to the job and did some of his best work yet as he exploited the hell out of Dozle and I's participation in the attack by hailing us as heroes and running multiple ads that praised the Zabi family as the keepers of Zeon's destiny. When we appeared on talk shows Dozle and I also tried our best to put focus on Ramba's role and try and clear his name from his father's actions, it did have some effect as now half of Zeon had forgiven him and saw him as an hero, while the other half distrusted him intensely. An unfortunate case but good progress as Ramba had thanked us for helping his image. Speaking of Ral's, the trial of Jimba Ral was set to open next year in January with the official process being done in a military court for terrorism. Everyone knew he was a goner but the main question was whether or not he would be in prison for life or receive the death penalty. This was due to capital punishment being banned in Side 3 but the punishment for treason in the Earth Federation being death. I was heavily conflicted on the issue as I wanted to see that bastard dead but it would be best for him to live so Ramba isn't a depressed wreck, I decided that I would play observer in the beginning and intervene towards the end depending on the process. When we came into power though, the death penalty would be expanded to broader cases to secure our rule. I wasn't going to get too much into the politics and morality of it; but it's going to be aimed towards traitors, repeated murderers, rapists, human traffickers, and large crime lords. For most of the month as we couldn't enact new laws until the next official session of Parliament, our family was focused on solving the Ral conspiracy.

Thanks to Kycillia's extensive work and the brutal efficiency of her men, we were able to interrogate all of the remaining alive members of the attack in a few days and were able to uncover the extent of the conspiracy. Fortunately Jimba Ral did not have the resources or connections to try and pull off any sort of Civil War within Zeon so every colony outside of Zum City was relatively unaffected. It seems like this plan was really hastily formed as Jimba had only done it within a few days and used elements from the underworld within the city, revelations from the prisoners showed that there wasn't even any real plan to carry out the mission after our family was assassinated so it appears that this was all one big kamikaze to get government control away from the Zabi's. After hearing of the plans Kycillia moved quickly to secure all assets within the Ral name and arrest those who had connections within the family, by the end of the first week most were let go after being found innocent and a majority of the families possessions going back to Ramba, but those who were apart of Jimba's old political circle were being held until further notice so that the elections could happen with no opposition. Lastly of note, with our power as heads of the executive branch, father and I declared a state of emergency to take place until the end of the year and gave extraordinary powers to Kycillia to secure order and hunt down any terrorists remaining in Side 3. This was something that I had come up with on the spot as the reality of Kycillia's operations would be a quiet purging process that would eliminate all potential dissidents, Federal agents, and remaining Ralists within the colonies. Now while this might sound like something straight out of Nazi Germany or Stalin's Soviet Union, the operations were far less brutal as only a few hundred persons were either arrested or killed covertly, most of those eliminated were either corrupt members of Zeon's bureaucracy or servants of Jaburo anyways, several members of the political opposition were left alone like how the Karn family weren't targets this time around. It was a rather productive month as Side 3 was for the most part secure of any major threats to the rise of the Zabi's, so we were free to begin the process of the Principality, something that Sasro has been subtly implementing in the minds of the populace through his agents.

After one month of the "Great Purge", elections finally took place on November 16th. With the media constantly praising me and Dozle for our roles as heroes and the constant attacks on the opposition with negative press towards anyone previously associated with Jimba Ral, our allies were able to score a near 90% majority of Parliament with the remaining new members being independents. There wasn't even any need for us to tamper with the votes as father held an 84% approval rating and any candidate he endorsed received a huge boost in the polls. After the new election an emergency session was called by my father for the day after and we were confirmed for new terms as Prime Minister and Vice Prime Minister. The night of the elections we had a little party in the Zabi mansion and I had to admit that I may have gone a little too hard on the wine, not on the same level as "The Hangover", but enough that Kycillia now had blackmail photos and videos of her big brother going wild at the party. _'Even in celebrations she still acts like a spook.'_ With the confirmations happening our inauguration was set for today so that Zeon could return to a sense of normalcy after all of the anarchy and chaos that took place over the last two months. Our cabinet was a mix figureheads and capable leaders from different sectors who overall had strong ties and loyalties to my family, while father was a politician he was becoming old and was starting to get some of his tiredness from 0079. So the rest of my siblings and I were being prepared to become the real authority figures in Zeon, while we may have all been insanely young we were also the same age as some of history's most famous rulers when they all began. Hell, at my age Alexander the great was beginning his grand conquest so I could easily conquer the Earth in ten years time.

Right now I'm in a small room inside the Capitol where all of my family have gathered in preparation for the inauguration which was about to take place soon. The Deikuns were also here as Astraia had wanted to show her support for our family, it was actually something that was a big boon for us as it further cemented father's position as the successor of Zeon. I grabbed everyone's attention by raising my glass up and proposing a toast, "Everyone, I'd like to thank you for coming today to celebrate the official inauguration of mine, and most importantly father's positions as Vice and Prime Minister. I know we'll never be able to live up to the greatness that was Zeon Deikun." I say with the Deikuns looking a bit down at the statement. "But I hope that we'll be able to live up to his legacy and make sure that Side 3, and in extension all of the Earth Sphere will become a better place. Here's to the Glory of Zeon! Happy Thanksgiving!"

Garma looks at me confused, "Umm Gihren, we're not American." _'Oh that's right, I guess old habits die hard.'  
_  
"Well too bad, I already ordered a large turkey for dinner. Besides, that doesn't mean that we still shouldn't be thankful for all we've got."

Degwin smiles and nods in agreement. "That's very true Garma. I remember that it was only 22 years ago that I was just a simple manager at the spaceport, living with Alice and a young Gihren in our small apartment. It wasn't long until I met Zeon Deikun when he started making speeches at the docks. At first I thought that he was a bit on the crazy side." Degwin says light heartily with us laughing. "But soon I got to know the man and I became inspired by his ideals, seeing a man who could change our lives in the colonies for better. In a couple of years after Sasro was born, Zeon encouraged me to campaign on my own as an MP to join the then-new SDSP. I had little means of support at first besides the labor union, but Zeon along with Alice encouraged me to try out and I was able to win in a surprisingly landslide. I don't think I ever got to thank the man all of these years for ever giving me a chance. I would've never made it here at all without Zeon seeing something in me. I'm also extremely thankful that we were able to pull through these hard times. Astraia being able to keep her children, Sasro and Dozle getting out of that horrible assassination, and all of us surviving the attack of that nutjob Jimba. Sieg Zeon!"

"Sieg Zeon!" we all shout back in support.

"Don't worry Uncle Degwin I'm sure you'll make a great Prime Minister. Not as good as daddy though." says Artesia.

"Thank you for the kind words Artesia. While yes I may never live up to my old friend, I hope to at least be half as good as him." says Degwin

"You know the rest of you guys should join politics as well. Maybe we can start a Zabi dynasty. Or little Casval and Artesia here can carry the mantle of their father." I say.

"No thanks Gihren. I'm not really good at making grand speeches like you and I find shooting bad guys to be far simpler than having a desk job." says Dozle

"I'm fine where I currently am thank you very much. I like my job and it can be very fun at times." says a smirking Kycillia. _'God you really gotta stop being creepy sis.'  
_  
"I'm actually going to run as MP for the 1st district next election. Just gotta make sure that the party is stable before I leave." says Sasro. _'I'm really excited to see what changes you bring in store brother.'  
_  
"Actually I've been thinking alot and I want to join the academy when I get older." says Casval. "I loved dad's work but I don't really have any interest in politics or government. I'd rather have a job serving Zeon than ruling over it."

"Yeah Gihren! Casval and I are going to be soldiers and we'll both outrank Dozle one day." Garma declares with Dozle laughing at our brother's declared mission to become his superior. _'Then again Garma did lead Zeon Reborn in Gihren's Greed with Dozle happily serving as his number two. At least I won't have to worry about Casval trying to create Neo-Zeon or dropping asteroids on the Earth.'  
_  
It was then that one of our aides came into the room and informed us that the inauguration was about to begin. "Well everyone thank y'all for being here in support for this special day. Father and I are going to head out right now so you make sure to find good seats in the audience as we make history." Degwin and I head out of the rooms escorted by the secret service while everybody else wishes us luck. We head out to the back of the stage as numerous media crews and people watching live are out in front. An estimated one billion people were about to watch so it was an event that I didn't want to perform any embarrassing moments. We have around 5 minutes left and then Degwin faces me and begins to talk, "Gihren my boy, I'm really proud of you today."

"Don't think anything of it father. Everything I've learned came from you as my teacher."

"You know Gihren I have a confession, when you graduated high school early I became worried of what kind of man you would turn out to be. After Alice's death you had become withdrawn and spiteful, lashing out at the world and working with immense greed to fill yourself with power." I looked down a little bit in shame, in a way it's a good thing I was ISOT'd into Gihren at that point as he would've become the monster we all knew in canon, and it would've been extremely hard to reverse his actions if I came in at say, the beginning of the show. "But after your hit and run two years ago, you've entirely changed for the better. I don't know if it was your newfound faith or the fact that you hit your head on the asphalt too hard, but it's like you became a completely different man. You started trying to be a better person and worked hard to make life in the colonies good for everyone. You even managed to bring the whole family together when I sadly was in the process of watching us tear apart. Even some of the more...immoral actions that you've taken, have only been done for the purpose of the greater good. When you managed to save parliament on your own initiative, it's when I knew that you truly are a good man. I'm sure your mother would be so proud of you today Gihren, and that if she is looking down at all, she would be thankful that she had raised such a wonderful boy before she died." I actually almost teared up after that little confession. After all these years I finally managed to do the one thing that Gihren always desired, to gain his father's approval. It reminded me much of my own father back home. I do hope that by now my old family has moved on. I wonder what they would say about this, how I would one day conquer the Earth as Space Hitler. _'Well it would certainly make them watch more anime, that's for sure.'  
_  
"Thank you father, thank you very much." At that moment the aid comes and tells us that the ceremony is about to start. We both come out on stage to a loud round of applause from our audience. We sat both sat down and I managed to see the rest of the Zabi's and the Deikuns in the front row looking proudly. After some performances and preluding speeches by different politicians and famous people from around Side 3, I went up to receive the Oath of Office as Vice Prime Minister. I came up to the judge and placed my right hand on the New American Bible that I had procured. Technically we didn't have to do it in the Universal Century since secular laws stated that an oath could be done without a religious book or object, but I decided to do so anyways in accordance with me faith.

Zeon Supreme Court Chief Justice Abigail Hamilton then recites the Oath which I reply back. "I Gihren Alexander Zabi do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the Vice Minster of Zeon, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the Republic, so help me God." I turn around to much cheering and applause in the audience. I then make my way over to the podium where I am about to cite my inaugural speech. Although it may seem like I would eclipse Degwin to my abilities, my skills would actually be a benefit as I draw the crowds in with my eloquent style and lay down the fine policies of our new administration while Degwin later speaks on the grand vision of Zeon. I wait for everyone to quiet down and then begin.

"Citizens of Zeon, I would like to thank you all for exercising your right to vote a week ago and electing the fine men and women within our parliament who then chose to confirm myself as Vice Prime Minister. While I admit that I don't have as much experience as others, I will perform to the best of my abilities to make sure that everyone within Side 3 will finally achieve their dreams of a good life within the colonies, that among the cruel vacuum of space we may build a paradise that all around the Earth Sphere will look at in awe and wonder. That was the dream that was professed by our great fallen leader, Zeon Zum Deikun. While it was an immense tragedy to have lost such a visionary near two months ago, we were able to persevere through the preceding crisis and stand strong and firm, showing everyone in the Earth Sphere that no terrorist will ever go against the strong foundation of democracy and the will of the people of Zeon. Together, let us all march forward as we claim our destiny among the stars while fulfilling our Newtype Potential.

In order to move forward and carry on the will and legacy of Zeon, new changes are needed to be made. The cowardly attacks against both my family and the state, have proven that Zeon needs to take new measures if we are to protect our population from the horrors of terror that so plagued the 20th, 21st, and early Universal Century. At the same time our ships have been increasingly attacked by pirates in the last few years who wish to reap off the hard labor of the people so that they may fill up their own coffers with blood and gold. From Earth to Jupiter our ships have been constantly targeted with Side 3 slowly becoming the primary victim of these horrible attacks. In order to ensure the safety of our people against threats both home and abroad, one of the first steps of the new Zabi administration will be to undergo a massive reformation of our defense forces, to create an army and navy that will rival the Federation Forces itself, not to become an offensive weapon of conquest, but one to protect the ideals of Zeon Deikun and the lives of the men and women whom he lead to space. Forever acting as our great shield to protect us against the dangers of the void and any hostile threats that may come from the rest of humanity in the future. At the same time, our intelligence community and valiant police force will need to be well equipped so that no matter what crime or act of terror that may occur, our brave men and women in uniform will be the first to stop it before it ever comes into action. The main goal of the Zabi administration is to make sure that we cut crime down and kill the plots of terror so that the average citizen can go about their lives in peace, raising their children in a safe environment that will never see them come to harm. And if any threat of the matter does come to fruition, then our response will be to make whoever responsible be brought to justice and pay for their crimes directly before the people of Zeon.

The matter of security aside, the goal of improving the lives of our citizens must also be pursued in society at large through our economic success. I am proud to be able to live in such a nation where are people work hard everyday to make products that will satisfy and improve the lives of those both in space and Earth. In these last two years our scientific and technological community has made leaps and bounds in progress to the point where I am proud to say that we are at the forefront in the advancement of humanity's science going in the future. Though many of us may have been forced to the colonies by the Terran elitists who wished to save the Earth solely through population control, each one of you has managed to make a new life in the stars and has actively worked to achieve the Zeon dream. Let us continue to work towards the goal of paradise by ensuring the continuation of our economic success for years to come. With the incoming of the new administration, we will take active measures to increase our industrial capacity and agricultural output so that now matter what the demands that Lhasas puts on us, the people of Zeon will have an excess amount of goods that are both high and quality and quantity, making sure that one day Zeon may be self-reliant and we will become the leading economy of the Earth Sphere. Already plans are being drawn up to extract new sources of Helium-3 from with the cooperation of Grenada, while the deep space fleets are active in procuring new materials from the Asteroid belt and beginning the active terraforming and colonization of Mars, if this process is successful then Zeon will lead the way in building a new life among the stars. Whether they be on new planets or in deep space in O'Neill colonies, humanity will spread out and prosper across the galaxy, no longer bound by the harsh gravity of Earth.

While all this is going on the Zabi administration will take active steps to improve the lives of the citizens of Zeon through active welfare reforms, state programs for the construction of new colonies and procurement of materials, state healthcare that will provide better quality service than any private service, tax cuts across the board, and the creation of infrastructure and education so that the poorest among our society may receive the tools that they need to carry out the Zeon dream. It is always important to remember that the state exists solely to provide for the people, not the other way around. By the people, for the people, that is the principal under which the American Constitution was written on centuries ago, and that is the manner under which I will carry out my duties, never to be done for greed or personal gain, but always to be done with the people of Zeon in mind first and foremost. Together with your cooperation, my father and I will work to make Side 3 great again. The quality of life in Zeon is going to be so high that whenever scholars point to the climax of human development, they'll look to the stars and point to the Spacenoids of the Republic of Zeon. A group of people who while forced from their homeworld, made a new life that was better than what they left behind.

Lastly I would like to discuss the topic of Newtypes. As you know our great founder Zeon Deikun frequently spoke about his belief that once moved to space, humanity will achieve a new level of enlightenment where our latent abilities will blossom and we will come to live together without misunderstanding. Some of you may have admittedly believed that this was nothing more than mere superstition, or a metaphor that Deikun liked to talk in the manner of humanities new style of life in space. Well I am here to tell you that what Deikun said is indeed true. Recovered documents from the speech that he was about to make at the time of his death, have revealed that the Flanagan Institute has indeed discovered that Newtype abilities have begun to form and are actively growing in the stars. Do not be alarmed at this new knowledge, for this was exactly what Deikun had wanted us to achieve, in death his dream was realized and the first steps to his goal of peace and prosperity in the solar system being taken. Further revelations from the results of the Flanagan Institute have also revealed that the average Newtype is no different then you or I, the only thing that has changed is a small development of psychic abilities that increase awareness, reaction, and a connection to others. Indeed these Newtypes are in no way similar to the same level of power of Jedi, Mutants, Psykers, and Psychics that exist in fiction. Another fact is that right now while the Newtype population is growing, it exists in only a small segment of the general population. In reaction to this news and development of new results, the Zabi administration will put extensive funding into the research by the Flanagan Institute and other potential organizations so that we may come to understand and help in the development of these people. It should be stressed that Newtypes are not some super race that will one day rise over us, rather they are the next step into natural evolution that was foreseen by Zeon Deikun. Let us work together so that we may all achieve the dream of Newtypes, to discover endless possibilities among the stars and create a bright future for all of mankind that was never before thought possible.

Zeon, we are the chosen people who will fulfill the legacy of Zeon Zum Deikun! It is time to spread out and fulfill our manifest destiny to conquer the stars and lay a new life for humankind. The hour of the Universal Century is upon us, the time for glory is now! Will you stand back? Or will you join me to forge a new path for our future, for the good and well being of all people! Stand up and take part in the new revolution! The age of Netwtypes is upon us and we will be the first ones to step into that era. We are Zeon! We are the future and we will become the masters of space. Sieg Zeon!"

"Sieg Zeon! Sieg Zeon!" The crowd shouts back along with massive applause and cheer at my speech. I then take the moment to bow and smile back and wave towards all the people of Side 3. I admit that my last statements may be a bit...provocative to Jaburo. However there was no malicious intent of war among them and it was far better than Gihren's master race ideals. Hell I think this may even be better than Garma's funeral speech if I do say so myself.

I walk back towards my seat where I meet midway with father and embrace him in a huge. He then leans close and whispers, "Did you have to make THAT dynamic of a speech. How am I supposed to compete now?" I smile back and sit down in my chair. Today is the dawn of a new era. The era of Zeon and the Spacenoids shall soon be set in human history. I look back to my father where he begins to take the oath, "I Degwin Sodo Zabi..."

Later that night the internet was filled with buzz and excitement over the speech. The word Newtype was quickly becoming a popular topic as the people were unsure to make of these new revelations. At the same time, a movement was slowly spreading among Side 3 to make the Zabi family the leading dynasty of Zeon. By the end of next year, the Principality shall have been born.


	12. Mobile Suit Waff

**December 18th, 0068**

It's a week from Christmas right now and so far everything is going alright within Zeon. All my activities for the last month since the inauguration has mostly been dedicated to being involved in the new Parliament as Vice Prime Minister. When I was young I always wished that I could one day be President, it's something every kid has thought once in their lives but it was something that I put a great amount of thought in due to my interest in politics. Since entering college, I mostly decided to give up any political aspirations and just focus on getting my degree, then survive in the real world. Not that I don't think I would've ever had a shot, Donald Trump's recent election proved that really anyone can do it if they want to. _'Damn, I won't get to see Trump in office. That never happened in this timeline so I'll have no idea what went on. Bet it would've been pretty interesting though.'_

Back to the topic at hand, at the time of my ISOT I never thought I could realistically be able to become a powerful politician. And let me just that as the second in command of a nation of two billion space people, it's busy as hell. Much of my work days have to be spent in parliament going over procedures and trying to take charge of debate. This wasn't too hard since most of the MP's were our puppets, but it was monotonous every single time we had to go through the motions to pass a new law. And I can't slack off most importantly due to my existing platforms of passing so many new measures within a year to Make Zeon Great Again. Add to that all my secret family plotting and the efforts to the future One Year War, I often found myself having taken power naps in my office or collapsing on the way home.

That wasn't to say that it wasn't worth it though. In the span of one month we've managed to accomplish more than congress did in the last few years by drafting up multiple legislation for the Republic. All I had to do was tell our supporters what father and I wanted and they got to work putting it on paper. With the recent recess for Christmas all that was really left was to finish the fine wording and mock debates early next year so that father could binge approve all the laws we've drawn up. Proving once and for all how the Zabi administration gets things done.

So far we've also met with a high amount of popularity across Side 3 with our approval ratings in the 80's and the small movement for the Principality growing at an exponential rate. Every time I was asked about the subject I would always feign ignorance and simply said it was a desire of the people, though secretly Sasro's been doing his magic the entire time and by 0070 we should at least be able to establish, if not start to create the Principality. At least in a fascist government I'll be able to sign things at a whim then have to go through the motions. At the current time I'm also on the news daily with many political analyzers remarking me as a man of action and a leader for change within Zeon, once again all thanks to Sasro's brilliant PR skills. The one thing on everyone's mind though is whether or not I'll be able to live up to expectations, with all the buzz around myself starting after the inauguration, specifically around my revelation of Newtypes.

Now I know it's a pretty ballsy thing to do by just going out to all of humanity and revealing that a small minority of us are now superhuman with mind powers. To be honest though it was about time to spread the word and act as soon as possible on the subject. According to Kycillia's intelligence, the Feds have no switched their priorities on Side 3 to having their few remaining assets target the Flanagan Institute. Jaburo is also initiating a global hunt on Earth for scientists with on the subject with a large search parameter for Newtypes based on Flanagan's current system of marking. With this revelation it's pretty much pointless at this point to try and cover up most of our Newtype activities from the Federation. Now that we're out in public on the topic, Jaburo can't covertly create any largescale Cyber Newtype projects or secretly hunt them down in space, we can also now use Newtypes for the public betterment of society instead of focusing solely on military purposes. The reaction's we've been getting from the public so far have been pretty mixed. Thankfully we haven't had any widespread witchunts happen, mostly due to the fact that Newtypes were a new (pun unintended) concept that nobody knew what the hell it was. There was some panic and fear as naturally many humans like to fear the unknown and would regard Newtypes as a threat to their existence.

Thankfully for at least a majority of the population of Side 3, most people have been simply curious and are pretty optimistic of the chances of becoming something of a psychic like in the comics. Doctor Flanagan later came out with a press conference and invited several news crews from across the Earth Sphere to the Institute in order to show what Newtypes are and the research that has been developing them. Naturally the Top Secret stuff meant for the OYW was kept hidden away, but the public was exposed to the general facilities and could finally rest easy knowing that there wasn't any new superhuman revolution and that much work and research was being done to asses the issue. Unfortunately the latest news from Earth reveals that many people are taking to the streets protesting Newtypes and demanding that the Federation do something about it. So far Lhasa has been pretty quiet on the whole affair, but that's mostly from my suspicions that they may start working on their own Newtype projects. Hopefully we'll win the war soon enough so that Cyber Newtypes like Four won't have to suffer like they did in the Zeta Era.

Within my personal life things were going pretty good for the most part. Since Christmas was coming the Zabi family would be taking a break for the most part and we'd spend the next few weeks until after New Years just spending time together as a family. During the month I frequently went shopping with Garma and Dozle at the Munzo Mall so that we could get gifts for everyone and enjoy the festive season. One of the huge downsides to living in a space colony though was that we weren't able to get any snow in the "winter" season due to the artificially controlled climate. It was a huge disappointment for me as there were only four times in my life that it was ever able to snow in Houston. Now it looked like I won't be able to see it at all for years to come. _'Note to self, fund a snow arena with taxpayers money.'_

From my Gihren's old memories, Christmas was actually the one time of the year where the Zabi's acted like a normal family at all and got along together. Hopefully this would be one of our best yet since we were largely able to resolve our family issues since I was inserted. As I spent time prepping for Christmas, I couldn't help but be filled with melancholy. Sure I would be doing many of the same traditions as I was in my past life; putting ornaments on the tree, doing the mass shopping, spending time with friends and family, having a big feast on Christmas Eve, going to Church on Christmas day with Garma and Dozle (the latter coming out of curiosity and support), and yet I felt empty at the same time due to the fact that one important thing was missing, my original family. In the past near three years I've slowly come to accept the Zabi's as my second family, sure they all have their quirks and some of them may be borderline sociopathic in the case of Kycillia, but we've grown closely together in that same amount of time and I feel like I've made deep bonds with my favorite anime family.

Yet, at the same time it's not like I've ever forgotten my old life. There are several times were memories of Texas and the 21st century will come to mind, along with my generally fond ones of childhood and growing up to become the young adult that I was. I can't help but wonder just what they're doing right now. Was I dead in my original body? In a coma? How are they reacting to this? Have they moved on? I pray everyday that hopefully they've continued with their lives and try not to be too depressed at my passing. While I have moved on, I never really stopped thinking of them, and I hope we can see each other someday. If some God or some supernatural force was able to bring me here, then why not? For fun I decided to look into the family records on Earth after my insertion and see if we ever existed. To my shock, there was a Christopher Ruth who was born in 1996 and lived in Houston, Texas. Maybe I can meet "my descendants" some day during or after the war, who knows?

Recent developments and past memories aside, today was a very important day as I was on a shuttle to a space station within Lagrange 2 along with Dozle. The reason for our sudden trip today was due to the fact that we were making our way to Zeonic in order to test see the new YMS-04 Waff, the first independent Mobile Suit of its kind, and the beginning of the Zaku program. While the Waff wouldn't be able to see mass civilian usage until next year, Zeonic had finished working a prototype under the guidance of Professor Minovsky and would be able to begin testing today, us being invited to see the first results in person. I couldn't help but be proud of this accomplishment, OTL, the Waff wasn't produced until 0074 with the Zaku I entering into mass production the next year. Now at this schedule we would be five years ahead of the series and would have plenty of time's to eliminate the Zaku's deficiencies and hopefully get Gelgoogs by the one week battle. Who knows, we may even get Zaku-III's.

Right now I was staring outside the window, contemplating over my past and present life, while Dozle sat across from me reading a newspaper. We took the executive transport, Shuttle 1 to the Space Station, so it was just the two of us as passengers. Dozle noticed my melancholy and put his newspaper down, "What's the matter Gihren? You worried about the results of the testing?"

"Me, worried? Nah. I'm just thinking about the past, that's all. In truth I'm not really all that stressed out about the Mobile Suits. I've been getting bi-weekly reports form Minovsky about the status of the Waff. With the miniaturization of Helium-3 Nuclear Reactors that's powering our colonies at the moment, Minovsky has been able to improve the status of the Mobile Suit immensely to the point where it's practically a decade ahead of the current model with its revolutionary design. Overall unless some huge error in the programing or sabotage happens we should be fine. I should be asking your thoughts on the project, brother. After all by next year you'll be one of the first Mobile Suit pilots in history, and practically the founder of the MS Corps." This was something that I had been wanting to do with Dozle ever since I got here.

In the One Year War he was a damn good pilot and one of the best leaders that Zeon had. Unfortunately, he was stuck in Space most of the time and his only major battle after the Earth Landings was Solomon where he got fried in the Big Zam. I was hoping to utilize Dozle's talents so that way we could have a large elite group of pilots at the beginning of the war that could practically blitzkrieg through anything the Feddies sent us. Dozle was intrigued ever since I introduced the concept of Mobile Suits to him, so naturally he jumped on immediately. After the Zaku-I was created, then I planned to send Dozle with Ramba Ral to A baoa Qu so that they could train our first ace pilots. If all goes well by 0079, then Dozle would be so experienced that he wouldn't even need the Big Zam, we'd still be building it though, just in a more practical way.

Dozle thought in contemplation for a few seconds then replied, "Actually I'm quite excited about this new venture. If Mobile Suits take off and become a major part of our military, then it will be the first time that I can prove to father and the others how much I can contribute on my own." ' _Come on Dozle, don't say that. You're Best Zabi for crying out loud.'_ "Oh don't look at me like that Gihren. I know that everyone says I'm just the brutish gorilla of the Zabi's while you, Kycillia, and Sasro are constantly praised for your brains and political skills. Ever since I joined the military I was determined to make my own path in the world, to give something to my reputation besides the family name. Maybe these giant robots will do the trick. I don't know how I'm going to fare in the Space Force though. My skillset has always been close combat, not being the captain of a ship."

"Stop fussing Dozle, you'll do fine. With the new plans I have for the fleet it's not like you'll be missing out too much since all the other veterans are going to be learning the ropes of being part of an actual Space Force. Since our current defense force is so small anyways, you'll climb up the ranks in no time as we have millions of new recruits joining for the glory of Zeon. Space is going to be our first line of defense and offense if we're gonna have to fight for our independence. And I want you at my side when that happens."

"Attention all passengers. We are now making our way towards Zeonic-1 and will be landing in a ETA of 10 minutes. Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare yourself for the zero gravity as we make our way in."

Dozle and I do as the pilot says and soon we land in the next ten minutes and make our way out soon after. As we float down onto the platform along with the secret service escort, we are met by the sight of Yoshiyuki Sakamoto, the founder and CEO of Zeonic. From my past dealings with the man over the creation of the Waff, Mr. Sakamoto was what you would see in your typical 21st century businessman. Shrewd, hard working, to the point, with plenty of corporate mannerisms that would make him fit on Wall Street. Zeonic was a one of the colonies leading robotics companies though, so no matter what you can't fault the man for his abilities. Mr. Sakamoto walked up to us and took a traditional Japanese bow which we responded in Kind. "Vice Prime Minister, Major, we are very honored to have two members of the esteemed Zabi family come and visit our humble station today. We here at Zeonic have been working very hard every day for the past year in order to deliver on the new Mobile Suits. After today I think you will be most pleased with our work and would hopefully be willing to enter into future contracts. I can't help but notice that you're father, Prime Minister Degwin, is absent. Is he unavailable at the moment?" Sakamoto says looking around, clearly hoping to impress Degwin in person.

"Our father is a very busy man as head of state and is currently tied up with affairs at the Capitol. He sends his deepest regrets that he could not make it, but trusts that we may be able evaluate the machine for ourselves. Father has high hopes in the future of Mobile Suits, and he wishes to see very impressive results today so that we can do more business in the future." I respond.

"Yes, yes, of course. We are all busy man and there are few who have quite as much to do as the Prime Minister. No matter, after today Prime Minister Degwin will be able to see the results up close himself as Waff's will soon flood Side 3 in order to serve the Republic. Come, let us go to the testing ground." Sakamoto leads Dozle and I as we float down the halls with his entourage, making small talk over affairs of the company. In truth, Degwin couldn't really care too much about Mobile Suits at the moment. He's been skeptical of the idea since I introduced it and only relented after I got Sasro and Kycillia on board. It's not like he's against the idea, but rather as a man of the past, he doesn't understand the potential benefits we can receive with this technology. _'To be fair, it's not as though he's watched the series like I have.'  
_  
We soon enter a compound that looks conspicuously like some Cold War bunker, where inside is a scene reminiscient of mission control with scientists and engineers working at their stations to get the final checks done. At the center of it all is Professor Minovsky, leading his subordinates by giving out multiple orders for the launch sequence to be prepped so that testing could begin. He then notices our entrance in the room and walks to the door with a straight posture, reaching his hand out which I shake back. "Prime Minister, Major, it is a pleasure to have you as our guests today to witness the beginning of a new era in space. Since I was able to successfully miniaturize the reactor, I've been working around the lock with Zeonic's finest so that we could complete a prototype before New Year. If all goes well, which it should, I'm confident that the men and women of Zeonic can upgrade the Waff and make new models in the future on their own. Next year I'll finally be able to continue research of the M Particle which I just discovered."

"Congratulations Professor. You've gone above and beyond what I expected. Just don't overwork yourself too much though. You're only one man and we have plenty of time to continue Zeon's numerous advancements." I reply. In the past year I've made Minovsky a close follower of the Zabi's due to the extensive funding we've given him for his various projects, and the increased praise he was able to receive in the scientific community because of it. Hopefully with the Zabi's more liberal policies and immense support as his patron, Minovsky will stay loyal and be able to contribute to the continuing scientific leaps of Side 3. One thing I noticed in the Universal Century was that outside of MS warfare, not many advancements were made technologically after the One Year War. Maybe we'll be able to change that this time so that peace can become permanent and prosperous.

"Thank you Gihren, your words are too kind. I would've never been able to continue my work if it weren't for the generosity of the Zabi's. If you all would follow me towards mission control so that we'll be able to have a front seat so to speak for when the Waff launches." We then make our way towards the back of room where we all sit down in anticipation of the the launch.

"By the way if everything goes according to plan with the Waff, how soon exactly will we see it enter the market and in what numbers?" asked Dozle.

"Well you see Mr. Zabi, once we finish working out any potential mistakes on the prototype, mass production will begin immediately and the first models will be rolling out by the beginning of February. By the estimates of our technical department should all contracts be fulfilled, then we'll have over 1,000 Waff's by Mid-0069. When the popularity and demand of the Waff increases, then production can increase exponentially with the expansion of our plants on Luna. By 0071 we'll be able to produce more than 100,000 Waff's at our best estimates. Of course the numbers can easily fluctuate during that time depending on the economy and number of contracts that come in." replies Sakamoto.

"What about the Waff's military capabilities? While Mobile Suits can be of immense benefit for the civilian population, we're looking to use them as part of the Defense Force's expansion."

"Well Major Zabi, during today's test, we'll be doing simulations of the Waff's battle performance along with the basic programs to test its function. As of right now the Engineering department is also looking at new designs for potential models that can be created solely for military purposes. Either on space or in gravity, or even both as some members of our team believe. Gihren I have to ask, is the purpose of the Mobile Suit Project for civilian purposes, or for war?" says Professor Minovsky.

"Both." I reply. "Mobile Suits up til now have performed numerous beneficial roles in the colonies for the creation of our habitats, cleaning space, and extracting of resources on Luna and the asteroid belt. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to use them in high quantities due to the high costs and limitations of the suits, that is until today. Once the various models enter production. We'll be giving out contracts for two fields, our military and civil engineering. I admit that my intention at first was to give us a new weapon to use in future wars, but the benefits of advancements in that field will inevitably come back to improve the quality of society in general. The military-industry complex has proven this time and time again in the Cold War and early 21st century, I say it's time to bring it back."

A staff member then alerts us that the preparations are complete and we will be able to begin testing immediately. "Alright everyone to your stations." says Minovsky to his team. "We've been working hard at this for the past year, and today's the day that it pays off. Remember to keep calm and continue operations as you would in a simulation. The goal is to merely test the Waff to its limits and see its performance live. No need to go crazy or over the top. Ensign Challia Bull, are you ready?" _'Holy shit! Challia's the first MS pilot.'  
_  
"All systems are green, professor. Ready to go when you give the signal." _'Damn this just got crazy. I knew I produced a lot of butterflies, but nothing of this magnitude.'  
_  
"You heard the man. Let us begin in T-minus one minute. Sixty, Fifty-Nine.." The clockdown then continues as everyone readies their stations and the screen turns onto a live camera feed of the Waff. I have to admit that upclose and personal it's a pretty astonishing sight. This seventeen meter hunk of Titanium was everything that I imagined it to be after watching Origin. It was a giant grey menace that closely resembled the Zaku-I and was one behemoth that practically screamed power with its large limbs and main body. The monoeye then flickers onto life and begins moving in a pattern similar to that of a Cylon. ' _God I love that sound effect'_ It's at this moment that I truly realize that I am in the world of Mobile Suit Gundam. And I'm loving every second of it. "Five, four, three, two, one, and begin!"

The Waff then moves forward out of its station and enters the testing area. And let me just say that it was not a disappointment at all. As soon as it began walking the Waff then began performing in a manner as if it was a scene from the anime. It was able to make leaps and bounds and travel a kilometer in seconds. The strength of the Waff was undeniable as it was able to meet every durability test that was thrown to it, stopping at only an enormous record of 100 Tons. Despite its top speed being hindered by gravity, the Waff had superb reflexes and had been able to dodge most objects and debris that was sent flying its way. The flight pattern of the Waff was average as the thing wasn't built for speed like a Dom, still it was able to manage to get close to the atmospheric speed of a shuttle. After doing some final reflex and sensory tests. The Waff then proceeded to depart into the vacuum of space.

This showed how Mobile Suits were truly meant to fly among the stars as the Waff's performance nearly tripled once it was free of any gravitational limits. Dashing through the obstacles of fake debris and asteroids, and managing to travel around the station and through an established obstacle course, all in the span of around 10 minutes. When observing the Waff's performance, I could tell through some minor details that it didn't exactly have the durability and strength of a Zaku, or the insane speed and reactions of the Gundam. To be fair it was like comparing the Sherman Tank to a Panzer-IV, both were fine vehicles in their own right, but it was clear that one was superior over the other. Dozle didn't seem to notice any of this though as he looked to be flat out in love with the Waff.

The final tests were an assortment of exercises that would see its performance in battle against Federation Guntanks and starfighters. Equipped with both a 230 mm Bazooka and a 75mm Machine gun, the Waff finally confirmed the superiority of Mobile Suits when it was able to mow down the guntanks and saberfish like an tank to an infantryman. The only time the Waff took any damage was when the drones decided to gang up on it and overwhelm the suit with superior numbers. The damage was only mild though and all enemy forces were destroyed. The tests did show me though that if the enemy had a commander like Revil, then Zaku's could be destroyed with heavy ordinance and superior tactics.

What worried me at the same time however, were the abilities of mechanized cavalry and airpower to the Mobile Suits. While I planned to spam Zeon's Mobile Suits in high quality and quantity, it was to expensive to build our entire force around them. So we'd still need some tanks and fighters in order to get the job done. Fortunately I already had some plans drawn up, but they would need to be edited by the time the National Security Act is pass so they have a passing chance against Guncannons and Gundams. One could only imagine how much the disparity in the tests would've been if Minovsky Particle were used.

Finally, after an hour of trial performances, the overall test was declared a success. The Zeonic Employees jumped up and down in excitement as soon as the Waff reached the holding station. Sakamoto also looked to be in tears of how successful his company would soon become, then again Dozle was in a similar state as well. "Professor Minovsky, you've given us a perfect Christmas present. I want the Waff mass produced ASAP and for the defense force and civil engineers to get as many models by 0070. At the same time feel free to begin pre-production on the Zaku-I, I'm sure anything that outperforms this will be a fine machine. Oh and Dozle, be sure to include Ensign Bull in the MS Project. Promote him to Lieutenant Junior Grade and have him become on of the instructors for the first-gen pilots. The future is here everyone." _'And the Feddies won't know what hit them.'_


	13. Gwazines, Power Suits, and Mobile Armor

**January 20** **th** **, 0069. Side 3**

After our rather exciting adventure at Zeonic with the introduction of the Waff, the rest of the year went by pretty quickly and without much incident. Christmas was a nice little event as we had a grand family dinner on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas hanging out in our house and opening presents. My favorite gift overall being a published novel of my first planned alternate history book, "Lone Star Republic" that I had been writing in my original body. Apparently Kycillia saw myself looking at some "antique" Turtledove collection at a local bookstore so she decided to give a random book for me as a present. Little did she knew how much it meant to me as it finally showed that in my other life that I could've had the potential to become a successful author one day and I missed out on so many opportunities. Needless to say I did a damn good job on the rest of the story. Everything went out exactly as I planned and apparently I even got to do a future series within the universe like I always wanted. Doing a full read through I got a little inspired and started writing a diary. Not something that had all of my life's events mind you (especially my plans for 0079) but just something I can make in a comparison to the Reagan Diaries and publish when we win the war. A non-racist and sane Mein Kampf if you will.

After Christmas came another quiet week as I stayed home from work for the Christmas break and either went out into the town with my father and siblings, or spent time making plans for future Mobile Suits. When New Years came I had a little epiphany when the clock struck Midnight. In exactly ten years the One Year War would begin and if things went exactly as they did OTL, then 1/3rd of humanity would be killed. With everything I had planned I was hoping that we wouldn't have anywhere near that level of loss. However, the reality of the deadline soon set in and I began to quicken the pace so that we could get started before Revil even gets the idea of Project V.

In relation to Zeon's current success, our Parliament has been passing the first of the new laws of the Zabi Administration in the past two weeks. Everything from welfare to exploration was being addressed as we were striving to get most of our agenda implemented before the 100 day mark, unlike literally every other President in U.S history. I got admit that Sasro has been of an extreme help in this regard as he's taken the role of a whip and has become somewhat of a Frank Underwood by manipulating the MP's to get to track and implement our goals. Once again I've got to say how nice it is to have him helping the process this time. I asked Sasro a while back if he wanted the job of Vice Prime Minister as soon as the Principality was founded, but he declined and said that he wanted to play a more covert role like Kycillia and guide the party and public from the shadow. Shame that he wouldn't be receiving the same level of credit as me, but whatever works will work.

Out of all the new legislation the most important one we've enacted is the National Security Act. This was essentially our Rhineland buildup as we gave HUGE increases to the Defense Force budget that would make the Pentagon look like cheapskates. Billions of credits were invested in the design and development of new ships and the Mobile Suit corps, which was all being funded by our tariffs and excess tax growth from the economic boom. In relation to Zeon's military, I didn't want to just upgrade it or develop everything early, rather, I was going to change it entirely. As much as I love Zeon's armed forces, the problem with it is that in the One Year War they increasingly stuck to WWII tactics and gear for no reason while developing the stupidest designs in relation to our non Mobile Suit vehicles and superweapons. Much of the actual Mobile Suits and a good number of the ships will probably stay as they are, but if we're ever going to win with a quick and total victory, we are going to need to change everything that currently makes up the Defense Force.

Which brings us to my current situation. At the moment I was sitting in a conference room with Degwin as we were both alone and waiting to receive Zeon High Command to introduce them to the new changes that came with the National Security Act. I originally wanted to enter it alone, but Dozle brought up the point that I needed father along as it would be weird in the same context as Joe Biden or Mike Pence running a National Security meeting by themselves. There were still a good number of officers in the Defense Force who were either traditional Deikun followers or old Ralists that had cut their ties with Jimba or were not associated with the Jimbajacking. So until we could form the principality and Degwin gets to sit on the throne all day, I'll need to continue these father/son presentations in order to maintain the illusion that I am receiving these orders from father and not the other way around.

It's around 8:55 and we're currently waiting for the big shots to come in. To be fair though we entered into military HQ around an half hour ago as Degwin always liked to teach us that punctuality and earliness were key in maintaining a professional and prepared edge over your opponents. Degwin was siting at the head of a rectangular table mimicking the situation room with a map of the Earth Sphere behind him. I was sitting on his right and looking at the reports and files one last time. "You know Gihren, if somebody had told me a year ago that I would be pitching giant robots to become the forefront of our armed forces, I would've laughed in their face and have them reported for drug abuse."

"Come on father, Dozle and I have shown you footage of the Waff tests multiple times. With the current capabilities of the Waff we can easily reach superiority over the Feds with their current armament. Besides, Zeonic is working on new models as we speak."

"Oh calm down Gihren I'm just messing with you. I guess it's just I still can't believe that we're actually using mecha to fight future wars. In my childhood I was sort of a military buff like your grandfather and we'd use to spend time together watching old war docs and going to some of the museums they had on Side 3. Your Uncle Joe was the one who was always addicted to anime and giant robot shows. I bet if I saw him right now he'd be laughing his ass off at the current situation."

"You know father, Dozle says that piloting a Mobile Suit isn't really too much of an issue as long as you've got experience and some technical knowledge. Maybe you can fly a Zaku into battle in order to lead our men with your inspiring charisma."

"Oh please, the day you get me into one of those death traps is the day a meteor crashes onto Earth and hell freezes over." ' _Someone's been watching Char's Counterattack'_ "I'll let you and Dozle handle this while I lead the homefront. I sure hope Garma doesn't get any fancy ideas like this when he joins the academy."

"Prime Minister, sir! High Command is present and ready to begin the meeting." Says a private stationed outside the room.

"Well what are you waiting for? Bring them in."

Inside came strolling the three most powerful men in Zeon's Defense Force. Up first came our head of the army, General Erwin Model, of distant relation to Walter Model. Second came the head of our Starfighter Corps, General Leonardo Russo. The man was quite tall for a pilot at 6'4 and reminded me of Sleggar in a lot of ways for his smugness and pompadour. It didn't take much to tell me that this man would be the most frustrated after today due to our new direction in Mobile Suits. Last but not least, came the one man who was actually a character in the series, Admiral Maharaja Karn. AKA the father of the second most batshit insane Newtype in the Universal Century (first being worst girl Quess Paraya). It was pretty interesting to see Maharaja's thoughts and actions today as the man was originally just shipped off to Axis due to his political loyalties not fully lining up with the Zabis. While Axis was fully operational and now the future center of our Mobile Suit development, Maharaja never became involved and remained as commander of the Space Force's first fleet. I wondered what sort of skills the man would bring to the table as Zeon was in desperate need of high caliber officers in the One Year War. I also hope that after today through the butterflies Haman would become a normal girl and could slowly develop her powers at the Institute instead of becoming a power hungry dictator _. 'And there's no way I'm going to let that pompous pink haired brat ever come near my precious niece.'_

"Gentlemen, glad you could make it today. Why don't we all take a seat so that way we can get this meeting immediately started with. We've got a lot of ground to cover with the new expansions. So this may take a while."

All three men did as they were told with Karn sitting at the opposite side of the table while Model and Russo flanked him on his left and right respectively. "So Prime Minister, I would like to know why you called a general meeting today. In the past Zeon Deikun only interacted with the Defense Force on an annual basis and left command to develop its own plans for defense of the colonies and our trade routes. Has their been a change in plans?" asked Karn. _'Hmm, this man seems pretty intelligent. I hope the rest of our command has this same caliber.'_

"As you may have heard the National Security Act was passed early this month, and along with it will come a huge increase in the Defense Forces budget and major expansion plans for our capabilities. While I do believe in peace like my beloved friend, I am by no means a pacifist. My son here wasn't just making political sweet talk when he talked about making us the equal of the Federal Forces. In time we will not only become their equals, but become far superior in quality."

"Look I'm going bring this out in the open. We're planning for war with the Federation." I say rather nonchalantly. Both Model and Russo act immensely surprised while Karn maintains a poker face but has a bit of worry in his eyes. Waiting for my elaboration.

"Sir are you crazy? The Federal Army has 120 Million troops while our Space Force is outnumbered nearly 100 to 1. Add in to the low probability of the other Sides and the Lunar colonies supporting us, it's practically suicide." Argues Model.

"Why the hell do you want to go to war with the Federation anyways? I mean sure I'm nowhere near a fan of those fascistic bastards at Lhasa and Jaburo, but we've done fine so far. Why ruin the peace over some sort of grand conquest?" says Russo.

"Gentlemen perhaps I should explain. We are not going to war with the Federation in the coming weeks. Rather, it will most likely take place in a decade. Giving us more than enough time to mobilize and prep our stockpiles with new weapons thanks to our advanced technological status. And as for why, it's because I have dutiful cause to believe that the Federation killed Zeon Deikun." The men before me reacted in a slight state of shock. "Oh don't act like that, it's not too much of a surprise that Jaburo would want to take him out. The man has practically been attacking Earth from day one. Along with the recent Newtype revelations and Zeon's planned proclamation of independence, assassinating him was their best option. While we do not have sufficient evidence to convict Jaburo, a detailed dossier in your packets from my sister will reveal the totality of Federal Intellegence's efforts to sabatoge and take control of Side 3 domestically. Add to that the various political actions taken by Lhasa, the Federation's endgoal will be nothing but the total subjugation of Side 3 and the entire Earth Sphere. The only way to prevent this from happening is a war for independence. Just as the Americans, Latin Americans, Vietnamese, Arabs, and Chinese have done in the past, so shall we do in the future. Just on a much larger scale than ever before in human history.

"Those are some fair points. Before we agree to this grand venture however, I'd like to know what is going to be done in order to achieve victory. After all even if we somehow bring our levels of quality and quantity up to the same as the Federal Forces, Earth's sheer resources will help them to win in a war of attrition. Basically rendering every advancement mute." said Karn.

"If you have read the NSA you'll notice that much of the wording is extremely vague and the specifics of our buildup not entirely on paper. That is because we will be radicalizing the military entirely, bringing a new style of warfare even more revolutionary than Star Wars, Blitzkrieg, or the Trenches. While we have much to discuss in the new reformation of the Defense Force, for today we shall be focusing on the technological and equipment changes for our troops. I'd like to let Gihren take the stage and present you with these developments."

"Thank you father. Like he said we aren't going to be discussing the entirety of the Defense Force reorganization or any official war plans for the fight against the Federation. For now I'd like to focus on the most immediate changes and the most important ones that will forever impact our armed forces. To start our discussion I'd like to begin with General Model. The Army being our first topic in order to get the smallest reformation handled first. Not to discredit your work General, but if all goes well then I'd like to win the battle at space before we have any need to defend the inside of our colonies or launch an invasion of Earth. The second scenario being a likely possibility but one that will actively be looked at after the Space Force's upgrade."

"That is understandable. There is not much work for us to do besides keeping the domestic peace with the occasional riots or act of terrorism. I am a tad bit alarmed at your mention of an invasion of Earth, but I have faith that we can achieve space superiority before it amounts to that. Where would you like to begin?"

"Before we start General I would like to commend you for making the Zeon Army the highest quality ground force in the entirety of the Earth Sphere. Nowhere else was this shown than in the rapid deployment and containment of the Jimbajacking while the corrupt Federal soldiers just lazed off in their barracks." General Model than smiled at his apparent praise. "However while you have made our men the best, that doesn't correct one huge problem in the Army. Why, the Fuck, are we using WWII era weaponry when we are in the fucking future?!"

General Model looked surprised and uncomfortable at my questioning and apparent using of profanity in our otherwise professional meeting. "Um sir, the equipment our troops use is beyond that of a German soldier in 1942. For starters all of our guns are nearly automatic and can easily overpower an antique mp44. In addition all our our vehicles are far superior to that of the contemporary models such as the Panther tanks or the Howitzer artillery."

"That still doesn't explain the fact that in the year 0069 UC, our infantry have virtually NO body armor whatsoever. Seriously one shot from a pistol can go straight through the chest of a soldier due to the fact that he has no bullet proof vest. All of our rifles have sticked to 21st century style ballistics and even our civilian models can match them. Not only that but the few vehicles we do have are all carbon copies of those such as the Jeep or Sherman in design. The only thing we have done is stick some modern aesthetic on it and call that advancement."

"This is quite true General. Do you know how many lives would've been saved in October if our security forces had the bare minimum of body protection or superior firepower? My own two sons were lucky to be able to make it out alive and they didn't do it unscratched either." said Degwin.

Upon hearing this Model held his head in a bit of shame before replying, "Sir it's not like I can counteract your points, but there is a reason for all of this. Former Prime Minister Deikun was a strong pacifist and therefore limited funding as much as possible for the army, making us little more than a glorified police force. This left very little room for innovation and a necessity to call back on antiqued styles. In addition this is entirely our fault as we are only copying the model of the Federal Army. So in a way while we are far from combat ready, I'd say the Feds are about the same in terms of quality. With no major rebellions since the dawn of the Universal Century and few wars even coming close to the scale of the Third World War, the military nowadays is a mere afterthought and only seen as a necessity by the taxpayers."

Hearing this argument I couldn't help but feel sad for the man. At the same time I was no revealed the reasons for Zeon's lack of advancement outside of ships and mobile suits besides Tomino's desire to have a WWII aesthetic towards the show. "Thank you for alerting me of the situation General. Rest assured there will be no lax treatment to the army so long as we're in charge." _'Something which may hopefully take place indefinitely.'_ "Our primary solution to this is that besides largely upgrading the army to become completely modernized, we shall expand upon the Zeon Marine Corps. While this may be under your wing Maharaja, I would like you to take part in its creation General as we will need someone who is an expert at infantry and mechanized warfare to help create such a force. In short the Army will be our large warhammer upon which we shall launch grand offensive against our enemies, while the Marines are like a scalpel, carefully used to strike surgically at the critical hearts of Zeon's enemies.

The Corps will be made up of several divisions and will be transformed from their current purpose of guard duty on ships, to that of an highly mobile strike force. Every advancement made in the Corps will come back to be implemented in the grander army, giving firsthand experience for eventual largescale operations such as occupation of the colonies and the hypothetical invasion of Earth. For now though the Marine Corps will receive the most attention in our training as they will be more relied upon in the space theatre due to its doctine of being an elite small force versus the role of the army, which once again will be needed for high scale operations in the distant future. For now there isn't much to talk about in advances besides just a massive upgrade in our standard equipment with new designs copying those of NATO in the Third World War and the early Federal forces in the Unification Wars. All vehicular development will also be put on hold for now until the completion of the Space Force's reformation and the beginning of planning for the Earth invasion. What I would like to focus on now is the complete evolution of the infantry. As you will see in your packets on page 26."

The men opened up the packets as said and were surprised, with General Model being in total shock at its contents. "Prime Minister, Vice Prime Minister, this changes everything."

"While war has continuously evolved over the centuries, the one factor that has never changed is that of the human soldier. Therefore it is most important to make the average soldier of Zeon an highly advanced killing machine. The objective being completed by none other than the introduction of the Powersuits." said Degwin.

The Powersuit that I was promoting could be said to be an odd mix of the gear from Starship Troopers (novel), Halo, Titanfall, and Advanced Warfare. It was essentially an armor interface created from created from a light Titanium alloy that was modeled in an image of an ODST. There would be both internal and external support in the form of an exosuit component that would add immense strength and speed to the user. Finally, methods were being tested to add external abilities such as optical camoflauge, miniaturized jetpacks for wall running and high jumping, sonic weaponry, and multiple tools for either hacking or mechanical repair. In essence making the average grunt a supersoldier. The costs for this would not be cheap, but with years of research and advances in production, I was assured from MIP that we could have the capabilities to equip the entirety of the Zeon Army and Marine Corps in the mid 0070's. Giving us a HUGE edge over the Feddie troops.

"I can't begin to express my gratitude for this new addition. When will the Army be able to use it, what's its full capabilities?"

"Easy there General. Unfortunately I don't have much to discuss besides the basic designs and proposed functions due to this being started back in July and previously only in the planning stages due to Deikun's known pacifism and the sole military needs versus the Mobile Suit project. Rest assured we are fully dedicated to this and MIP is working on creating a prototype by mid-year, with production beginning around 0070. Besides the powersuit, the major focus of the army at this point is the implementation of 3-D printing for repair and ammunition production. Though I hear that you are making quite some progress in that area already."

General Model began looking over the totality of the powersuit schematics and looked to be pleased already. With the current advancements of the Universal Century, this was something beyond feasible and it was something that I naturally came up with in my first months here while planning war upgrades. While mobile suits may be the main workhorse of Zeon, the vast improvement of the infantry's performance will give us an enormous advantage in the war. After all, on Earth not all theatres will see Mobile Suit action. And in a battle like Odessa where conventional forces will play a huge role, then we will simply emerge triumphant with the tech difference alone.

Upon hearing the mentioning of mobile suits General Russo decided to but in the conversation, "About this whole mobile suit craze, I keep on hearing from some of my comrades in logistics that apparently the Zabi's want to use it as the next mode of warfare. While I can't deny a mobile suits benefits for our domestic affairs, giant robots like this have no place in the military as they are too cumbersome for ground warfare and especially space dogfights where my fighter remain supreme." _'Oh Russo you have no idea how wrong you are.'_

"Actually General these so called rumors are true. Mobile Suits are going to become the workhorse of Zeon in the indefinite future. Besides their purpose in the colonies, they will soon dominate the battle in a manner never before seen since the introduction of the tank in the first world war." said Degwin.

Upon hearing this Russo became immediately flustered an enraged, "But sir, you just can't do that! I call it total horsecrap that these machines can outperform even the most inexperienced of pilots in our Apollo starfighters. They are too large and to dependant on external weaponry to even try and outshoot our fighters, let alone take down a capital ship when they can easily be shot at by our guns from lightseconds away."

"Prime Minister, the starfighter is the center of our strategy in space as they can act as a wildcard for battles while our big guns can take out enemy vessels at long range. Eliminating starfighters and replacing them with mobile suits would be a huge misallocation in resources and would only serve the purpose of helping the Federation to gain space superiority." said Karn.

"Ah, I assume that you men have not heard of the Minovsky Particle?" said Degwin.

"The Minov-what?" asked Russo.

"The Minovsky Particle, a recently discovered nuclear isotope named after esteemed Nuclear Physics Professor Trenov Minovsky. I'm not an expert in physics myself so I won't be providing an detailed explanation like the Professor could. Basically in lay mains terms, the Minovsky particle is a byproduct of Helium-3 in its production. In the design of the new Minovsky reactor, the reason for the zero output in radiation is due to the fact that all excess waste comes out in the form of Minovsky particles. Now the particle itself is harmless to the human body and can cause no physical effects. It's main effects are those on communication. When Minovsky particles clump together they create what is known as the Minovsky effect. The effect is a dangerous one which interferes with all known forms of electromagnetic radiation. Radio and microwaves are entirely disrupted. Infrared signatures are fractured, visible light clouded, electronic circuitry fried, and visible light slightly fogged. In practice, while this damage can be reduced on electronics with well protected shielding, its damage to communication cannot go away, with the effect lasting from one day to a full month depending on the density of the concentration. In effect, all long ranged weaponry such as guided missiles and targeting systems are useless. Requiring close combat. Also rendering starfighters obsolete due to the need to attack closely. When faced with the power of mobile suits in short range, a starfighter will be destroyed nearly every time unless handled by an ace pilot. Even when attacking ships they will not have much effect due to the difficulty of dodging anti-air weaponry. We've even done tests with the Waff which shows it outperforming starfighters and tanks even without a Minovsky field. In short, the past of fighters and mechanized cavalry is at an end."

Upon this revelation all three men appeared to be in shock. All of their training and doctrine having been rendered obsolete by a single subatomic particle that many cried to be a work of fiction. Russo was the most emotional as this meant that his career was at an end. "No. This is bullshit! No way this dumb particle can eliminate the starfighters, it just can't!"

"Vice Prime Minister, what does this mean for tanks and artillery? Are we just going to be using mobile suits and infantry?" asked a concerned Model.

"What effect will this have on ship to ship combat? With the way you describe things it sounds as if ships can be wiped out by mobile suits in a single blow?" asked Karn.

"Calm down everyone, calm down. If we intended to sack you from your position due to these recent developmetns Russo then you would've been fired and not invited to the meeting. Solutions to each of your problems have already been thought of by R&D with cooperation from Minovsky. Allow Gihren to explain." Said Degwin.

"Thank you father. While the Minovsky particle will change warfare completely for centuries to come, that does not mean that we shall simply abandon modern tactics in the meantime. General Model, at this time I cannot fully go into detail once again as the Space Force shall be the immediate focus of our changes. Just know that Mobile Suits shall fulfill the role of tanks and back the ground troops in combined offensives. New methods are being researched to keep and improve the usage of artillery while tanks and armored carriers shall become troop transports and essentially become mobile artillery by launching distant attacks at multiple locations with immense speed. Admiral Karn, I shall discuss the full details with you after I outline General Russo's new role, just know that all future ships shall essentially become carriers by having a mobile suit compliment. General Russo, Mobile Suits shall replace the role of starfighters as a single Waff can decimate an entire wing of Sabrefish. In space they have performed extremely well according to the first tests and can take out battleships and cruisers singlehandedly with the Minovsky effect and heavy ordinance. That is not to say that starfighters in and of themselves will go out. It would be too expensive to rely our entire force on mobile suits, so we will need fighters to fill the gaps. In addition, an improved starfighter will also be needed to take out mobile suits at long range and move with speed that not even mobile suits can match. That is why in addition to the power armor, MIP is starting the Mobile Armor Project as we speak."

"Mobile Armor, the hell is that?" asked Russo confusingly.

"Mobile Armor is essentially what happens when we take the properties of a mobile suit and combine it with existing military vehicles. The concept can also be used for land designs, but that is more in the form of superweapons and is a discussion for another time. Space Mobile Armor are slightly larger forms of starfighters that are designed for immense maneuverability and heavy firepower than can outmatch even that of a Waff. If you turn to page 42, you will see the early schematics for the Val Varo. The Val Varo is an extremely high quality fighter as it can go to top speeds of 5,340 km/hr, has a 3M thick armor, is only three times the size of your average starfighter, and has complement of beam weaponry, electric "claws" and missile pods. Making it superior to the starfighter in all aspects."

Now for those of you wondering why I went for the Val Varo right away instead of the Bigro, it was due to the fact that the Bigro in my opinion was nothing but an overglorified prototype that is just useful for its claws, something that can easily be defeated by a Gundam or GM sniper. The Val Varo was currently within our technlogogical capabilities and is far superior as seen in Gihren's Greed with it basically owning all other pre-Zeta era MS and mobile armor. All I had to do was leak the plans to the head researcher for MIP and have him take the credit. Thus prompting its creation instead of the hypothetical MIP-X1 which was replaced by the Zaku-I.

"Well that at least takes away a good amount of my worries. Looks a bit ugly to my taste, but I think I could get used to it. So you essentially want us to become long-ranged fighters instead of the mobile suits? How will that work with the Minovsky effect?"

"Basically the Val Varo is being planned for an emphasis on speed, allowing it to strike at battleships and fighters in a quick fashion that can quickly eliminate the opposition without time to react. Although later tests will need to confirm its combat performance, it is already predicted to have an even higher combat potential than mobile suits. Though that can be easily surpassed given enough development in the field. With its weaponry of a mega particle canon and the addition of its missile salvo, no current Federation fighter or battleship will be able to bring it down."

"Any fancy toys for me Gihren? Or will the Space Force be stuck to just Chivvay's?" Asked Karn, clearly intrigued by all the new developments.

"Don't worry Karn, you were saved for last since the Space Force is going to be where we'll put the most radical of changes to the Defense Force outside of the Mobile Suit Project. While the Federation will stick with its big gun policy that proved the downfall of the Japanese in the Second World War, we will be investing in a diversified fleet with a primary role as carriers." said Degwin.

"Out of our current fleet the only class which will stay in the new Zeon Armada is the Chivvay, which will act as part of the new Corvette-Class ships and serve as an intermediary for civilian protection and fleet makeup until we've fully produced our new ships. It's replacement for the corvette shall be the Tivvay, a heavy corvette with the compliment of six mobile suits, or mobile armor as it will most likely have, and will have a greater emphasis for speed and intense combat than the current Chivvay's.

Below the corvettes are the stealth scouts. A separate fleet run by the Space Force in coordination with intelligence that as its name suggest, shall scout out enemy positions and prove information to our fleets in advance of the battle. Infiltration tactics are also being discussed in its design with the possibility of the optical camouflage for the entire hull. The name of the first class is the Defiant-Class, with its schematics on page 58." As its name suggests for all you trekkies wondering, the Defiant in its exterior is a near copy of its counterpart from Deep Space Nine. The main differences being its longer length and replacement of warp nacelles with sublight nuclear engines. It's phaser compliment wouldn't be used and would be replaced with a large missle salvo, dual railguns, and a single beam canon. Its low compliment for its stealth purposes.

"Before I forget I should mention the new weaponry for all of our new models. Esentially all future ships will follow a design with a pattern of RLMM. Heavy railgun turrets that shall be created with the sole purpose of ship-to-ship combat, with the goal of obliterating enemy targets. beam spray turrets will be placed around the hull and have the purpose of acting as anti-aircraft emplacements against mobile suits and fighters. Megaparticle canons will be our heavy hitters and allow for surgical strikes against enemy vessels and mobile suits. Finally all ships will of course have the standard missle component. With some being designed for nuclear capability.

The role of the frigate shall be taken by the Zanzibar-class, though in truth it could easily be called a carrier as it mostly relies on its mobile suit complement of 18 suits for battle. In terms of weaponry it's only an upgrade of the Defiant with a four more railguns, ten missile salvos, and one more megaparticle canon. It's role is meant to be a fast strike carrier that can transport mobile suits to and from each battlefield over an extended time. Concepts are also being laid down at this time for an atmospheric version that can descend into Earth.

Our cruiser class shall be taken up by the Musai. A rather slender ship of 250 meters length with its on ship weaponry focused on an assortment of railguns and megaparticle canons in the center section on the main body. This will become the main ship of the fleet and will fulfill a role similar to Zanzibar's with a 12 MS complement." What I didn't reveal was that it was essentially an earlier designed Musai-Kai.

"The main battleship and flagship of our fleet will be the Gwazine-class. The 105x450x320 ships will instantly overpower all others with its seven megaparticle canons and dozens of railguns to act as support. Add to this a nuclear salvo of 20 nukes, thousands of available missiles, and 25 mobile suits it's a vessel of pure death.

Lastly is a design of which we probably won't see development until 0074 and may only see a couple ships in service by the time the war kicks in, the Dolos-class. The Dolos will act as our fleet carriers and serve to carry whole wings of mobile suits to major battlefields in the Earth sphere. These ships do have drawbacks in that they are extremely cumbersome, slow, expensive as hell, and have little in on ship weaponry besides eight megaparticle canons two railguns, and six missile salvos, it's main defense being multiple beam spray turrets. What makes it a gamechanger is it's capacity of carrying 180 mobile suits. If we get even one of these onto the battlefield by the time war with the Federation commences, we will instantly gain space superiority whichever battlefield its present at.

So that is the Space Forces reformation. As you can see this will be a tremendous effort that will require hundreds of billions of credits and several years of production if we are to get anywhere near close the Federation's numbers. We can easily make up for it though with far superior quality and the addition of mobile suits and armor on the battlefield. The same level of care to these designs will also be implemented to the Army, Marine Corps, and possible Air and Naval forces if we are to invade Earth. Any questions?"

When I finally finished the presentation the military brass sitting before me was in sheer shock to all of the changes that I had introduced. Unlike traditional ISOT's with tech upgrades, all of this was feasible with only a few years advances, the introduction of the new computer systems and improvement of manufacturing with industrial 3-D printing, will make the Zeon Armada an unstoppable force the likes of which humanity is never seen. I was fairly confident we could even take on an alien empire. _'Please God don't actually have us meet aliens until after the One Year War.'_ I wasn't entirely naïve though as I realized the potential for the Federation to develop Pegasus's early or even come up with superior weapons due to the butterflys. As long as their advancements stuck to the big gun theory and mobile suits don't begin for several years, we should be secure for now.

After what seems to be like several minutes of silence, Maharaja Karn finally responds. "You're saying that this, all of THIS, is going to be the future of the Space Force? Jesus Christ! Am I glad that I decided to stay in the Force until this point, because there is now way in hell I'm retiring now."

"If you've put this much thought into the ships and mobile suits, then I can't wait to see what will come with the land forces. Maybe we might even be able to conquer Earth after all." Says Model.

"You know the more I look at it the more I like the Val Varo. I'm sure with my excellent piloting skills and tactical brilliance, the mobile armor will replace mobile suits by the end of the century." Says Russo.

"Glad to see you're all so enthusiastic about the buildup. It's important to remember that we won't see the full completion of this for several years, even with Zeon's large growth in the manufacturing sector as of late. By that time though we'll have mad so many advancements that the Federation would have to play catchu up for a decade or two." says Degwin.

"With all of these developments and future discovery of new weapons and tech, especially with the potential for Newtypes, Zeon will emerge victorious and claim its rightful indepedence. I like many of you hope that this will all be for naught and that we can live in peace forever. With Jaburo's current policy though, that will only happen when pigs can fly across the galaxy. Our overall goal for war is the date January 1st, 0079. If the Federation doesn't declare war first then we shall launch a pre-emptive strike. If Earth goes on the offensive, then we will be ready. It's been a pleasure talking to you today men. I hope that when you go home you'll take the time to look over the totality of our reforms and see how to best implement them for our men. In the future we will also be having weekly meetings to discuss progress and the current situation. Good luck and may fortune seek you in the tides of war. Sieg Zeon!"

 **A/N: Erwin Model and Leonardo Russo are my OC's. If you might have noticed, some of the schematics for the original UC ships are a tad bit different. This is due to tweaking on Kaiser Gihren's part in order to improve their combat capabilities versus OTL. For those of you who don't understand the first paragraph, it's a reference to my work on under the same name. Before anyone will also think this is a Zeon-wank, Federation activities will be revealed in the future. They won't be advancing at the same rate of Zeon, but there will be improvments compared to their OTL status in the One Year War. Next chapter is Chapter 14: A Ray of Sunshine, where Amuro enters the story. Sieg Zeon!**


	14. A Ray of Sunshine

**February 18th, 0069. Vancouver, Canada. Tem Ray POV**

 _'How? How could all of my success have lead to this? All of it to be instantly ruined by the actions of some crazy scientists.'_ As I was driving home from my work at the Federal R&D facility on the city, the revelations that I had just received at work were replaying in my head like a broken record. Everything was going well so far; I had just gotten a promotion for a job at Jaburo, my next assignment was an upgraded version of the Guntank, earlier this year I had even won an award at the 0069 Planetary Robotics Convention for my thesis on mobile suits. My family life was even going quite well as Kamaria and I were getting the closest we've been in several months, something which really showed due to my efforts on Valentines Day, Monday. Amuro was amazing us everyday with his high performance in school and increasing interest in robotics, something which I proudly contributed to. All of this would've made been perfect with the move to Jaburo, yet I would no longer be able to do so if that meant risking Amuro's safety. _'Seriously what the hell kind of crap is this Newtype business anyways?'_

I pulled up into the driveway of our modest two story house in the Vancouver suburbs. Kamaria was inside cleaning dishes since it was her day off from work as a secretary on the local Federation garrison. From the look of her face she was clearly surprised as the time was 3:45 and I usually wouldn't get home until 6 or 7. Something I was not proud of for my career but wouldn't become an issue after today. I opened the backscreen door and made my way inside, "I'm home."

Immediately after my little announcement, Amuro came rushing and started jumping up and down on my legs, "Dad! Dad! Your home early! Does that mean that you'll have more free time next week? I just made a breakthrough in my designs and I really want you to see it, right now."

I then proceed to scoop up my son and carry him in a big hug, "Love you too sport. Don't worry, everything's fine at work. I'll come see your new schematics later but I've got some important stuff to talk with your mother first. Can you wait a few minutes in the living room?"

"Oh, ok." Amuro says a little bit disappointed but still glad to see his father home. He then ran upstairs to his room in order to bring collect his new designs probably hidden somewhere under his bed. I admit that I was a little scared to have kids at first, but Amuro turned out to be one of our greatest blessings.

After the door to Amuro's room closed I walked over to the kitchen where Kamaria looked to have a worried look on her face, obviously noticing that something is amiss. "Tem, honey? Did something happen at your job? Why didn't you call me to say that you were on your way home?"

I then take a deep breath and sigh, "Kamaria my love, what I'm about to tell you is something that is going to change the rest of our lives. So you may want to sit down when I reveal everything." Kamaria did as I asked and took a seat at our dining table while I sat directly across. Her face was filled with fear as I never acted like this unless something very serious or important was going to affect the family.

"I don't exactly know how to say this, but I believe the Federation is going to try and take Amuro away." Kamaria's face became one of total shock and then she instantly started weeping.

"No, Tem. Why would you say something like that? They can't take away my precious baby boy. There's nothing special about Amuro anyways so why would they want to take him from his parents. Sure he's a smart boy but it's nothing abnormal for his age."

I out my right hand on her shoulder and tried to comfort my wife. "Honey, you remember that big speech that Gihren Zabi made three months ago that went viral?"

"That crazy talk about how Newtypes were real and that Zeon was going to conquer space? I thought you said that was just a hoax that the Zabi's are spreading in order to gain votes?"

"Well I thought so to. The thing is that Wednesday some spook came from Federal Intelligence and tried to warn us about the dangers of Newtypes, while also looking for any personnel that would best fit the criteria for research on the subject and any possible technopsychic development or whatever the hell they were talking about." This got Kamaria's attention, as she knew I would never lie about an investigation like this. "I thought that the man was just a quack and kept on insisting that Newtypes were nothing but a myth created by Zeon Deikun. So naturally they didn't select me and I was going to carry on with my assignment to Jaburo like planned. After they stopped questioning me though a thought came to my mind. Why would Intelligence be spending so many research on something that was obviously a lie?

So I started looking into the manner and managed to hack into the Federal servers for classified files on the subject." This horrified Kamaria as she let out a gasp due to her insistence on respecting authority. "I know it's a big shock, but trust me when I say it will all be worth it. Anyways I managed to locate files dedicated to Newtypes and did some digging. I finally read all of it today and let me tell you that Newtypes are real. As of right now the Federation is on a manhunt for any Newtypes on Earth and they're about to start a vigorous selection for the most powerful of them. Our son fits the criteria of what could be considered to be an S-class Newtype. Some of the most powerful hypothetical Newtypes in existence."

"But, but, that's impossible! There's no way little Amuro could be some sort of psychic, he's just my sweet little angel, not some mutant. Wait, does that mean that we're Newtypes too?" exclaimed Kamaria.

"No I looked into that possibility but we are what could be considered Oldtypes. Whatever a Newtype is it's something that isn't entirely genetic. When I found Amuro's ranking I discovered that Intelligence would be taking all sorts of people from around the world and keeping them hostage in Jaburo. Whether it be voluntary or not."

Kamaria's crying intensified and her eyes were practically crimson due to her tears. "What are we going to do Tem, we can't let them take Amuro away!"

"Relax, I'd rather kill myself than have our boy be experimented upon like some lab rat. Listen closely because what I'm about to propose may either save our family or land us in a cell in Australia. I propose that we leave Earth immediately tomorrow and take our personnel belongings to start a new life. Sure we may get in trouble for abandoning our posts, but the consequences will be far lighter now then after they discover Amuro's Newtype potential. After we pack everything, we'll take a flight to Hong Kong and get space flight tickets form Lou and Co., once that is achieved we'll go past orbit and make our way to Side 3, in order to seek political asylum in the Republic of Zeon."

"Why Zeon though? Will they even accept our request?"

"I have full confidence that once I submit a request through back channels, then we can easily gain admittance into Zeon. Gihren Zabi has been actively looking for technicians and scientists all over the Earth Sphere in order to help in the creation of mobile suits, something that he's been successful at with Zeonic's revelation of the Waff last week. With my expertise they'll instantly accept us for my potential contribution to mobile suits alone. In addition if Amuro truly is a powerful Newtype then we'll need to be in Zeon in order to have him be studied at the Flanagan Institute. Those guys are the top minds in the field of Newtypes and they'll surely know what Amuro will need in order to develop his…abilities. Add onto Amuro and myself, potential Federal secrets that we can grab from our jobs, the Zabi's would be begging to have us. I don't know if you remember this, but last year Zeon sent me a job offer to become one of their top heads of R&D, presumably for mobile suits. I turned down the job offer back then because I was working towards the new programs for Jaburo. This means that they already wanted me before. As soon as we make our way into Side 3 then everything will be alright."

"I don't know Tem, it sounds dangerous. Especially for Amuro if he gets caught. But if this means that he'll live a normal life instead of being experimented upon, then I'll do it! I love you Tem Ray."

"Love you too Kamaria."

We then kiss but that rather tender moment is interrupted when Amuro walks in with his sketchbook. "Mom, Dad? Are you fighting again?"

I internally winced at that little remark. Over the previous year Kamaria and I have gotten over many arguments over the pettiest of things. Luckily the big D-word never came up in our discussion. It hurt though to have Amuro see this and for it to be normal for him. "No Amuro, your mother and I were just having a heated discussion. Over…where we are going to go on vacation."

"Vacation! Oh boy when is that going to happen?" Amuro's face instantly lighting up over the prospect of a holiday getaway.

"Well, we'll be leaving tomorrow over lunchtime. I won't tell you where we will be going yet, because it's a surprise. Let me just say that I know you'll just love it. So go back to your room right now and pack your bags for our trip. Mom will come in later and help you finish your bags."

"Wow a real vacation! We haven't gone in forever. I hope we can go to California this year. Even better if I get to miss school." Amuro ran back to his room and started packing his clothes. Kamaria looked at me worried. "A vacation Tem?"

"It's just a little white lie, but something that's necessary since he's only six and won't know how to keep his mouth shut. I'll tell him the troop once we reach Zeon space, but until then he'll probably be too excited over the prospect of going into space. Make sure Amuro only brings what's necessary for him to start a new life. Whatever we leave we can easily buy back in the colonies. Tomorrow I'll head back to the office early morning and get as many files as I can to sweeten the deal. Never thought I would see the day that I became a Spacenoid."

The next day everything proceeded rather smoothly as Amuro and Kamaria had gotten everything packed and I was able to get in and out of R&D with a copy of the files inserted on a floppy disk. I have to admit the whole experience was rather nervewracking as I kept looking over my shoulder every second, convinced that some spook would come and put a bullet in my head. After I came back home we proceeded to take a flight to Hong Kong and from there made our way into space with a shuttle ride from Lou and Co. Amuro was practically beaming with excitement the entire time as it was not only his first time on an orbital flight, but one that went right into space, staring at the stars the entire time. The whole affair took three days and on the 21st we were able to rendezvous with a Zeon Chivvay where they were to escort us to a private military dock for a meetup with some high up officials. _'I sure do hope this is worth it in the end.'_

 **February 21st, 0069. Side 3. Kaiser Gihren's POV.**

As I stood on the passenger ramp of the docking bay I couldn't help but let the largest of smiles decorate my face. While I as Gihren was clearly a more emotional and positive man after my insertion, this moment as of right now was possibly the happiest day in my new life. _'I got Amuro motherfucking Ray. Best. Day. Ever!'_ It was practically Christmas, Birthday, and Easter all wrapped up into one present. With the most powerful living Newtype on our side, Zeon was sure to win the war. I've been trying since day one of the insertion to get Tem Ray to defect to Zeon, all previous attempts having failed. It got to the point where I was seriously considering having Kycillia send men to kidnap Amuro and bring him to the Flanagan Institute. Now I practically had Tem Ray waltz right into my lap free of any cost. It was a tad bit worrying that Tem Ray had requested political asylum in order to gain entry into Zeon, meaning that somehow he had incurred the Federation's wrath. No matter the cause though I had given explicit instruction to Intellegence and the State Department that we were to use every card necessary to keep the Ray's in Zeon.

"You look awfully cheerful today Vice Prime Minister, did something good happen?" asked M'Quve. I was pretty surprised when I learned that the Overlord of Odessa would be accompanying me today for this meeting. His presence being primarily required due to his role in the Intelligence department. It did make sense though as M'Quve had to start somewhere in order to become Kycillia's top lackey on Earth. The man already made a name for himself the past month when his proposed United Maintenance Plan made its way into the final copy of the NSA. Not that it wouldn't have gone on regardless since I needed UMP to be implemented in order for Zeon to get rid of its huge logistical problems, luckily M'Quve had already proposed the idea the previous year so I let him take all the credit. So far he hasn't shown any signs of corruption and has seemed to get into Kycillia's graces with his high performance record. When the One Year War did kick off then I planned to have Kycillia use him whatever way she wanted, he wouldn't be getting anywhere near the Odessa refinery though (mostly because of the fact that we won't be targeting Odessa, but that is a discussion for another day). Who knows, maybe I can give him a Gyan and he'll die a glorious death against a Gundam?

I'm just happy Captain that we were able to have another highly qualified individual defect to Zeon. In order to beat the Federation then we'll need as much brainpower as we can gathe, having Doctor Ray come aboard for the Mobile Suit Projet will be an immense boon for Zeon in the long run."

Speak of the devil, just as I finish my reply the shuttle from the nearby Chivvay comes in to park inside the docking bay. Outside comes a few Marines who instantly stand at attention and salute upon seeing my presence. Afterword comes Mr. and Mrs. Ray, both looking extremely tired and haggard from their long trip, while Amuro came running up behind and seemed to be one giant ball of energy.

Upon noticing my appearance Tem Ray tried to perform a mock salute but I just dismissed him, signaling that he didn't have to be too formal. "Gihren Zabi, Vice Prime Minister of Zeon. I must admit that when I planned to defect I didn't have any idea that we would receive this kind of treatment. I just thought we would be meeting with some intel agents at a minor dock." said Tem.

"Any new help that can ensure the prosperity of Zeon is more than welcome Doctor. As you may have heard last week, our Mobile Suit Project is already making numerous leaps and bounds with the introduction of the Waff. While it is a shame that you weren't able to be a part of its development, there are still plenty of more opportunities to come. Besides we already have a spook in the case of M'Quve here." I say pointing to my purple-haired companion. _'You know one of these days I really need to research purple pigments.'_

"Mr. and Mrs. Ray, My name is Captain Jeffrey M'Quve. I am what you would call an analyst for Zeon and my job today is to question any information you have regarding the Federation and its activities. Remember that the more info provided, the more benefits that you will be able to receive from Zeon. Is there any questions that you would like to ask before we move to a secure facility?"

"I would like to know where we will be staying after the interrogation. We left everything we owned back on Earth and I don't want our son to grow up in a new environment with barely any comfort." asked Kamaria.

"I can assure you ma'am that as guests under political asylum, you will be afforded the finest protection that Zeon has to offer. Tonight you and your family will be staying on base while we prepare a safehouse for you to live in the coming weeks while the Foreign Affairs Ministry handles the details of your new citizenship. After that is completed then you are free to pursue whatever career you'd like and stay wherever you want on Zeon. Right now there is a considerable real estate boom on Munzo so there are plenty of opportunities open. Vice Prime Minister Gihren here has told me that whatever you chose will be partly payed by the Zabi family in order to express their gratitude for your services today." said M'Quve. With it looking like it intrigued Tem and Kamaria. Probably because they have no idea why I would be supporting them so much since they haven't even begun offering anything yet.

"Are you going to be hiring my Dad? You should because he's the best engineer in the entire world! Or the colonies I guess." asked Amuro.

"Amuro don't be rude! Mr. Zabi here is being very generous to us and we don't want to be too greedy." shot back Tem.

I stifled a chuckle at Amuro's innocence. _'So this is the future White Devil.'_ "Don't worry Mr. Ray no offense was taken. You are a highly talented individual who I have wanted to work for Zeon for several months. Yet you turned down every one of my offers no matter how generous the terms were."

At that statement Tem blushed a little bit with embarrassment. "Well Vice Prime Minister, I was very comfortable at my old job and I didn't think there would be much for me to do at Zeon. Recent events have…changed that."

I nodded in a solemn agreement. "I guess you have come to realize the Federation's extensive corruption and tyranny. It's okay to have gone blind til now as nobody knows they're in the viper's den until its too late. But enough with all of this brooding. Let's take a ride to Intel HQ so that M'Quve and my sister will can begin the questioning process. So long as both of you are cooperative it shouldn't take more than a few hours to finish. Say Amuro, you wanna ride shotgun in the jeep?"

"Really?!"

"No!" yelled Tem and Kamaria. I couldn't help but laugh.

Four hours later after making our way to an interrogation room in Intel, with the Ray's being treated with respect and decency of course. We were finally done with the questioning process and both Tem and Kamaria had given all that they had known about the Federation. Amuro meantime was given some papers and let himself draw as much as he wanted. Surprisingly they were all detailed designs of what appeared to be a Waff. Showing his already tech-savvy abilities.

First up was Kamaria's questioning over her info from her job as a secretary on base. There really wasn't anything dramatic revealed besides some details of said base and some of the private lives of the higher officers and a few plans that she managed to steal before defecting. Both Kycillia and M'Quve seemed mildly pleased however so I guess in their point of view it was a suitable catch. What Doctor Ray said after was the most interesting and disturbing details of the Federation's developments.

As head of robotics Tem had a treasure trove of knowledge on the Federatoin's own mobile suit program. Apparently, there was none, at least not yet. General Revil had been pretty insistent on developing their own mobile suit program but Feddie High Command was content to stick with their current usage of the T-61. The only major project of note in that area was possible work on the MK II of the Guntank series. Something that didn't really bother me, as the Guntank was mostly obsolete compared to some of the latter suits such as Doms or Goufs. The only reason that Hayato survived and managed to do so well in the show is really a case of plot armor rather than actual skill if anything. What worried me was that there were early designs of the possible introduction of the Guncannon, though that was something that Tem said was being cut from funding due to the need to revitalize the Space Force. Still it presented the fact that the Federation could begin if they weren't so ignorant. One practical goldmine that Tem gave us was a floppy disk that managed to contain nearly half of the projects that the Federal Forces had going on at Vancouver. Though when M'Quve and Kycillia saw the disk they flat out laughed hysterically, something extremely rare for Kycillia, due to the fact that we now used cloud servers and hard drives to store information. Thanks to yours truly of course.

The part of the interrogation that was the information on the disk over the Federation's Newtype research. So far it seemed that they had only just begun working on the thing and were nowhere near the Flanagan Institute. What it did show was that they could've caught Amuro if the Ray's waited to defect any longer, and that Newtypes might actively be seen in the Federal Forces on 0079. I prayed to God that we wouldn't see Cyber Newtypes or the Feds getting their hands on any of the more powerful ones. Haman was currently a happy toddler living in the colony, Kamille and Judah were not conceived yet, Lalah, Kusko, and Marianne were at the institute, Chalia under Dozle, Banagher, Gelmy and Quess were non-existent. Still, half the White Base crew was still in Federal space and Newtypes who were never in the show could become extremely powerful players. It was the first time in my life along with the Jimbajacking, that I was shown the consequences of my actions, with the One Year War now involving Newtypes like never before.

As I was contemplating the future of Newtypes, Kycillia stepped out of the room while M'Quve was briefing the Ray's on their final details. I turned to my sister, "So sweet sister, everything turned out okay?"

"Relatively speaking it was one of the more pleasant interrogations I have had. This time I didn't half to use any chainsaws or electric wires." I widened my eyes in fear. "Oh relax Gihren, I was just joking."

"Phew. Nice to see you've actually developed a sense of humor for once." I say light heartedly.

"Or am I?" This shut me up as now I really can't tell whether or not she's being serious or kidding. "In all honesty Gihren I can see why you wanted this man so badly. It's practically our biggest find since the end of the Purge and now we know what Jamitov has been doing with what little information he receives from the Flanagan Institute. At least while they're so obsessed with Newtypes they've barely given mobile suits a thought. Overall I'd say your little speech worked out at the end. What amazes me is the revelation that the little brat in there could possibly have the potential to become one of the most powerful Newtypes alive. I've been to Flanagan for a couple of visits and already I'm impressed by how much that Lalah girl has managed to achieve. If we can make soldiers out of Newtypes like them that are loyal to the Zabi family, then our dynasty will be secured for generations."

"Don't forget Kycillia that while I do want these kids to become part of the war effort one day, they're still kids and should be allowed to be treated as such. If they don't want to pilot mobile suits or mobile armor then let them live normal lives. It still benefits us as the Federation doesn't have a powerful Newtype to use at their disposal. Still I am worried about the fact that while we are gaining Newtype immigrants all over the colonies, Jaburo has a free hand on Earth to do as they please. Tomorrow I want you to use any resources we have on Earth to switch focus to disrupting the Federal Newtype Program and try and smuggle as many as possible to Zeon. I have information that a Japanese pharmaceutical company named Murasame Labs will become soon become the Federation's equivalent of Flanagan if their contract goes underway. With the chance of artificial Newtypes being researched into."

"This all coming from your friend on Jaburo, Gihren?" I answer nodding. "Fine, I'll do my best. Don't expect any miracles since I'm already stretched as it is trying to maintain Order on Side 3 and prevent the mobile suit secrets from getting leaked. Do try and tell father that his little princess wants a raise in her allowance."

"Consider it done. We'll just divert some funding from welfare to intelligence under the NSA. If you want the workload lessened then I would suggest letting Sasro handle domestic affairs. The man is a genius when it comes to PR and I'm sure he can apply the same effort to internal affairs. Not that he'll be able to do so now mind you. But once the Principality is formed then he'll have more than enough jurisdiction as Prince Zabi."

"Wow Gihren, who knew you'd actually have intelligence with that IQ score.'

"I consider it a gift, I drink and I know things. Not that I'm an alcoholic, just a Game of Thrones reference."

"What's Game of Thrones?"

"Oh a classical fantasy series from the 21st century. Let me tell you that you would certainly make for a great Varys."

M'Quve then invites us back in before Kycillia has time to question my pop culture knowledge. In the interrogation room M'Quve is stacking papers while Tem and Kamaria sit across from him patiently awaiting for the outcome of their questioning. Meanwhile Amuro is getting quite agitated from staying in one place to long. Poor kid. "Well if you two have nothing more to provide then we are officially done here. Thank you for serving Zeon and welcome to the Republic." He stops at the door before leaving. "Oh by the way Lady Kycillia, I shall have a complete report on your desk tomorrow morning."

M'Quve then salutes and exits the building. Kycillia and I fully enter and sit down. "Mr. and Mrs. Ray, as Captain M'Quve said we are very grateful for your cooperation. Consider yourselves citizens of Zeon and have a pleasant stay on Side 3." says Kycillia. She gets up to leave but before that I pull on her arm.

"Sister, if you don't mind me, I'd like to take Doctor Ray here on a little drive in Munzo."

"Why would you want to do that? I'd like to have some time with my family after the whole ordeal we've been through." Demanded Tem.

"Oh don't worry it will only take a couple of hours at the most. I'd just like to show you something that can help influence your career path in Zeon."

"Tem, you can go. I'll watch Amuro while your away with the Vice Prime Minister. These people have taken care of us so far so there would be no reason to stop now." Says Kamaria.

"Fine, I'll go. This better be worth my time."

"Gihren I'm fine with you going by yourself but make sure to bring your Secret Service escort. And don't show anything classified to Doctor Ray unless you know he'll join us." says Kycillia.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the rules. Come on Doctor, time for a joyride."

Five minutes later we left the base in the Executive motorcade and are making our way towards the Industrial district of Munzo. Doctor Ray is slightly nervous during the journey, but he's very talkative as the man is curious about what life is like on Side 3. Asking multiple questions in our trip. "So Vice Prime Minister, will my son Amuro be able to come to school here? He was in First Grade level back on Earth but he's quite advanced for his age with a fourth grade reading level already."

"Don't you worry a thing Doctor Ray. Zeon has some of the finest schools in all of the colonies. My own little brother Garma goes to an exemplary private school, Zeon Academy. It's a place for the rich and talented but I'm sure with your sons intelligence he'll be more than able to qualify for a scholarship. I can even have Garma show him around on his first day if you want. By the way call me Gihren. If what happens after today goes according to my expectations, then we'll be working together quite often in the future."

"Thank you very much for your generosity, Vice…I mean Gihren." We then pull up to the gates of what is revealed to be a plant run by Zeonic where the security lets us pull in after seeing my face.

"So Zeonic huh, does that mean you want me to work on the Waff?"

"The company is practically done with development of the Waff model at this stage. What I want to show you today are some of the more grander projects that Zeon will be pursuing in the future." We then make our way through the halls of the factory as the employees bow their heads or make way for respect of my position. After quite a journey, during which Tem is gawking at the tech, we finally arrive at our destination which is a platform overlooking construction of various mechs. At the forefront is Professor Minovsky.

"Ah Gihren, what an unexpected surprise to see you here. I was just running some final tests for software on a variant of the Waff for the Defense Force. Who is your new companion? Why is that Tem Ray?"

"You know me sir?"

"Why yes, I do my best to try and review any potential partners that can further my research. You've shown to be quite capable with your work in the past on robotics, especially that thesis on mobile suits, something I would've written. You familiar with my work?"

"No sir, I've only ever skimmed articles on Minovsky physics in the past."

"Ah that's a shame, not unexpected though considering your Terran colleagues consider myself some crazed lunatic. Albert Einstein was treated as nothing more of a fool in his time, so I receive it as more of a compliment. Don't worry though, I think the purpose of Gihren bringing you here is so that you may become my assistant in future projects. Something I very much look forward to. You did bring Doctor Ray here to observe the Zaku-I, didn't you Gihren?"

"Yes I did professor. Doctor if you would kindly come to the edge of the platform and observe the mobile suit in the center rake." Doctor Ray did as he was told, and when he finally gazed on the suit he was in total awe. What was right before us was an incomplete chasis of the Zaku-I. The exoskeleton had much work to be completed and some parts such as the right leg and left hand were not there. Just by looking at it however, one could tell that it was clearly superior to the Waff and was built for war. Down at the Zaku's foot was a dummy reactor where engineers were presumably trying to measure the inclusion of the Minovsky reactor.

"How? Why? What?" asked an increasingly awestruck Doctor Ray.

"Oh rest assured Doctor, Professor Minovsky will answer all of your questions in due time. I take it that you will want the job?"

"Yes!"

"Good, I'll contact Mr. Sakamoto and let him know that Zeonic know has a very valuable addition to their company. If you two will excuse me I'll have to make a call." I leave the two mecha engineers to their own whims as Doctor Ray goes on asking multiple questions of the Zaku while Minovsky looks pleased that someone of a similar mindset will finally be working with him.

I go into the hallway and pull up my cellphone where I call one of my contacts. "Hello Astraia, this is Gihren, how's it going? Listen if you could, may I please speak to Artesia on the phone? I found someone who may just become a new friend for her.

 **February 28th, 0069. Amuro Ray POV**

"And this right here is class 113 where you will be staying for the remainder of the semester. If you have anymore questions then feel free to seek me out at lunchtime."

"Thanks Garma, you know for a big kid you're actually pretty cool." I say with Garma smiling.

"Don't mention it. As someone who is going to graduate next year, I consider it my sworn duty to help all of my underclassmen in need." Our conversation is interrupted when a bell rings on the PA system. "Well that's the ten minute bell so I should probably head to class. Good luck on your first day Amuro!"

"Thanks, say hi to your older brother for me!" This got some rather confused looks from some of the students around me as they probably wondered what a new kid had to do with the Zabi family.

I see Garma run off and then join an older blonde guy who is standing by the lockers. I then enter the classroom where most of my new classmates are already talking in their little groups of friends. _'Great, I go to a new school and already nobody will pay attention to me. Why couldn't I just stay in our new home?'_

I walk up to the teacher whose name is Mrs. Davidson from the name tag on her desk and she looks at me questioningly. "What are you doing here young man, did you get lost on your way to class?" she asks with a kind voice. I already like her because she reminds me of mom and isn't mean like those teachers back on Earth.

"I'm the new student Amuro Ray. I just moved here from Earth a week ago so this is my first day. Here's an apple." I say pulling a granny smith out of my backpack. Mom always said it was good to be polite to new teachers by giving them apples, I didn't see why though as cookies are obviously better.

"My what a sweetheart. I can already tell that I will enjoy your presence here Amuro. Class! This is our new transfer student, Amuro Ray. He just moved here from Earth so be nice to him since he's probably never been in a colony before. Amuro why don't you go take that empty desk towards the back by the window?"

"Yes ma'am." I scurry my way through the desks and try not to grab the attention of any of the other students in the class. Back on Earth nobody really liked me that much so I was hoping this would be a new start. Thankfully while many people ignore me they don't give me any stares either. So it's somewhat of a start, I guess. I sit down in my assigned desk and start looking out at the window where the colonies ceiling is.

As I'm staring from my desk I happen to miss a certain blond leap at my desk. "HI!"

"AHH!" I jump in surprise and land out of my desk, causing some of the other kids nearby to laugh. _'Great, first day and I already embarrassed myself.'_

"Artesia, don't try and scare Amuro on his first day!"

"I'm sorry Mrs. Davidson, I didn't mean to." The girl now known as Artesia says with a pout.

"No, that's okay. It's my fault for reacting like that when you just wanted to say hello." Seeing a potential conflict resolved, Mrs. Davidson went back to drawing on the board. "I'm Amuro Ray by the way."

"I know that, silly. The teacher said your name in front of the class." _'Oh, right.'_ "Anyways I'm Artesia Deikun." She says holding her hand out

"Nice to meet you." I say shaking Artesia's hand, while she had a huge smile on her face. Little did I know until later that she was actually really happy that I reacted to her last name like a normal person and didn't treat her any differently.

"Here. I'll help you pick some of your stuff up." I thank her for doing this, but I instantly panic when she finds my robot journal. It was where I drew most of my designs in school and what many bullied me over for being too smart. _'Great, now she's going to think I'm a dork.'_

"Are these all your drawings?" She asks while I nod my head in shame. "It looks so cool!" Artesia exclaims loudly much to my surprise. "I always wanted to be an artist but whenever I try to draw something it turns out like mush. These pictures look really nice, unlike mine. These pages are nothing but a bunch of robots and machines. Did you build any of them?"

"Well only the first pages, the rest I either never got to on Earth or its projects I want to do later."

"Wow! You must be really smart, like some sort of scientist." She says while I blush in response to the praise.

"Not really. My dad is much more smarter than I ever could be. You wanna see what I'm working on right now?" I ask with Artesia nodding her head. I turn my journal to my latest page of drawings. "This right here is the Haro, it's a taking robot I want to make that turns into a ball and bounces everywhere." I then spend the rest of my time explaining Haro to Artesia who is now very interested in its design. Asking me a ton of questions. _'Maybe I can get a friend after all?'_


	15. Mobile Suit Waff 01ST MS Wing

**March 1st, 0069. Grenada, Luna. Dozle Zabi POV**

 _'Today's the day. We'll finally get started on the Mobile Suit project and make history. Where future generations will praise the name of Dozle Zabi, Grand Admiral extraordinaire! Well that is if I live that long. Or if I don't die in a mobile suit. Man I hope I don't fail.'_

Waking up at 0600 Grenada time I turn on the light in my room and start changing into my uniform immediately to get ready for the big day. After Gihren and I were introduced to the Waff I begin learning as much as I could immediately on how I could pilot the machine. While everyone else in the family likes to sit on the sidelines I'm a man of action, so if there's going to be any mobile suit warfare in the future then I'll be right in the front in a Zaku. Just like Patton, Montgomery, or Rommel centuries ago.

At first it was a bit hard in having to learn the basics due to the need to go over the entire structure of the Waff and how it was operated. Then after that I had to undergo test simulations with conditions of both gravity and space to get used to the handling of such a machine. Thankfully I managed to pass with flying colors and a top ranking on the preliminary standard. Something surprising sure but then again I did always excel in the academy with heavy machinery.

Taking the actual Waff for a run was quite an experience but after time I got used to it. Unlike a shuttle, starfighter, train, or any other high speed vehicle, a mobile suit was largely reliant on its software programming to direct its basic controls by the way of a CPU that was structured around the core and designed in such a way to resemble the job of a human brain. Using some of Zeon's most elite programmers all reactions were instantaneous with information sent in nanoseconds to the cockpit and the pilots orders being transmitted to the limbs and other features where the orders were given out. Come to think about it, it seems as though mobile suits resemble humans more than just in shape. With this design in place all that was needed for being able to pilot a basic suit was the ability to have quick reaction times and operate a mobile suit to travel and do tasks that a person in a normal suit would've done, but on ten times the scale. It took many hours of training and much time spent studying over the programs of the suit and the engineering. Something that was not easy by the fact that I did not have the high IQ of my siblings. But by mid-February I had done well enough that they officially issued my pilots wings, with myself becoming the 23rd certified pilot of the Waff. Something I took much pride in.

Immediately after this was accomplished there was little time for rest as father and Gihren ordered me to head over to Grenada with Ramba Ral and begin the first phase of the mobile suit project by training the first generation of pilots and developing mobile suit strategies and tactics ourselves so that when the day of war came we would be experts in ms warfare before the Federation even started. Originally we were going to be stationed at A boa Qu but the plans changed and we would stay on Grenada for a year. The main reason for the deployment being so that our first mobile suit training would happen on the dark side of the moon, where the feddies wouldn't notice. In 0070 we would should deployments to A boa Qu with the mobile suits capabilities in the civilian world already having been revealed by then. Meanwhile the real military mobile suits such as the Zakus and Zimmand's proposed Zudah series would be worked on either at Grenada or Axis. Overall using a smoke and mirrors strategy so that whatever the federation focused on we'd be ten steps ahead in reality.

While I headed over to Grenada to get used to commanding the asteroid and getting to know my new base, Ramba Ral and the rest of the Mobile Suit corps spent time going through the current members of the Defense Force in order to find the best candidates for our first pilots. This was a very important process as our first gen pilots needed to be elites so they could teach their expertise to the second class and one day become the main officers within the corps. It took the first half of February but we were able to come up with our first wing of 48 of Zeon's finest men and women. The only suspicious part of it was the involvement of my brother Gihren and his insistence that certain pilots would pass no matter what.  
 _  
'Gihren. Just what are you planning dear brother?'_ Over the many years of my life I've developed a very complex relationship with the man known as Gihren Zabi. The first four years of my life I looked up to Gihren as any younger brother did with his oldest, always following him and trying to copy his every action and mannerism. For the most part Gihren went along with it and liked to look after me since he had hardly any friends at school and Sasro was more of an annoying younger brother to him (he treated me much like a runt but that's what you'd expect from a middle child). After mom's death everything changed as the first weeks of the aftermath i cried in depression every day and at first Gihren would be there to support me. Then as the months and years went by, Gihren slowly became a cold young man and focused on his personal aspirations and projects instead of spending time with his own family. Gihren mostly treated me indifferently and while I tried to at first reconcile with him, I gradually gave up and left him to his own devices, instead fulfilling the role of a kind big brother to Garma in a relationship that I had always wanted with Gihren. The pattern continued for 16 more years until everything changed the day he got into an accident with the drunk driver.

At first I became filled with regret as the accident in a way was my fault with us going to the club on New Year's Eve, I thought for sure Gihren would hate me for the rest of his life. Then, on the day he woke up, it's as if he became an entirely different person. When I first checked up on Gihren he looked at me and smiled as I entered. An actual smile! At first I thought it was either the drugs or his trauma that made him act like that, but Gihren seemed to continue his new personality as he asked me about my life and actually forgave me for my role in the accident. We talked for several hours and by the time the nurse told me I had to go home I was astonished, I held an actual family conversation with my brother for the first time in years. I kept on hoping that this new Gihren would stay and in a rare instance before Gihren became religious, prayed that my brother wouldn't revert back to his old self. Whatever the case it seems that my wishes were fulfilled as Gihren did a complete 180 and started to try and reconnect with the rest of us, being passionate and finally playing the role of the eldest child in what should've been a normal family. Oh sure much of our time was dedicated to scenarios where the Zabi family would take over Side 3, but it was actually quite nice having everyone work together for a common purpose and enjoy each others company. Soon we even started doing normal family things such as going to sports games, eating out at restaurants, having social conversations, actually spending quality time doing activities together. It's as if we weren't the Zabis any more. Something I was extremely happy with.

And yet while I was glad Gihren had a different personality, I noticed that at the same time he had developed several new...quirks. As if you could call it that. Gihren would always spend as much free time as possible planning different schemes with Kycillia and using his job and influence to change Side 3, not for power or corrupt purposes, but instead to entirely advance Zeon and the welfare of its people. Gihren would spend many hours looking over science and tech books for fun, and I sometimes overheard conversations that Gihren had with some of Zeon's tech corporations, the ones that just always happened to have some sort of revolutionary product come out the next day. Gihren would spend resources gathering files and information of certain people not only in Side 3 but through the colonies, using his resources to advance their position or put them into desired careers that Gihren wanted. What was odd about this was that they weren't political or corporate allies that would help his cause, many of them were actually normal people that had virtually no connection with our family. Names like Tem Ray, Aguille Delaz, Trevor Minovsky, and that's not even mentioning the few select pilots who he wanted in my wing. While it was undeniable that they were all fit for the program since they passed the requirements and in some cases excelled, it still didn't make sense as there was no correlation besides a group of three best friends and it was confusing why Gihren wanted them or how he knew their abilities in the first place.

I knew that somehow everything that happened to our family, most of the major events that happened in Side 3, were all connected to Gihren. Yet there was nothing I could do about it. I was scared to go to Kycillia about it since she would probably conspire against Gihren and ruin the family dynamic we had going. _'Though I highly suspect she is aware as well.'_ Father sees Gihren as the new golden boy and Sasro has benefited much from Gihren so a no go on that front. Also while our relationship could be called close and caring, I couldn't just waltz up to him and say "Hey bro I think your the head of some crazy conspiracy involving Side 3. Is it true, do you work for the Illuminati or anything?" I shook my head in annoyance. Whatever the case I think I'll just let it slide for now and move on with my life. Gihren hasn't done anything to show a hint of malevolence so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and help him as much as I can. And if I needed to move against him, well that's a topic for another day.

Putting these morbid thoughts away I make my way into the messhall and get in line for breakfast. When i get up to the chef he puts three times as much food on my plate and I walk off, the large quantity mainly being due to my large build and high metabolism. I sit down on an unused table in the left corner of the room with not many people being around right now due to it being so early. After sitting down I begin to dive into my eggs and bacon when Ramba Ral comes in and directly across from me. "Morning Zabi."

"Morning Ral." I reply casually as I sip some of the coffee. When I first got the word from Gihren that I would be working with Ramba Ral for what seemed like the next couple of years, I was at first entirely against the idea. While I had forgiven the man for any connections with his father and knew that he was innocent (as he did save my life), I was still uneased over the idea of working with the son of the man who tried to kill me and Sasro. Thankfully while it did take some time, I slowly got used to Ramba Ral and now saw him as a fellow comrade in arms. The man had equal if not superior skills to me in a mobile suit already and he was a fine officer when it came to how he took care of his men. Hopefully mobile suits will help advance his station in the military as most of the men in high command still hold a grudge against him for Jimba's actions, including Kycillia. "You ready for the big day? In just a few hours we will embark on a great project that will be sure to change the history of the Universal Century as we know it."

"I wouldn't be too dramatic on that front Dozle. While yes mobile suits can change warfare and give us an advantage in any future conflicts, I highly doubt that all space and ground warfare will be reliant on mobile suits. We'll still have to maintain a large conventional ground force and in relation to our Space Force, someone needs to operate ships that transports the MS around. If one side has a superior ship that can blow another from long range, then mobile suits may become obsolete due to being unable to leave the hangers."

"True points on all regards. Still if we manage to get enough development while the Federation is too focused on starfighters then I know we can win the war. Think of our situation as being that of Patton and the US mechanized infantry in the First World War, it was all thanks to one giant metal box that the Allies were able to win against Germany, while most of Europe managed to be conquered twenty years later by the same machines that they had unleashed in the trenches."

"If I'm not mistaken you just said that we can win THE war. Currently all of the solar system is in a time of peace besides your rouge terrorists and revolutionaries on Earth. Does that mean that you're one of the war hawks who wants to conquer space, like your brother?" Ramba says eyeing me for an response.

"Well it's not like I want a war to happen, it's just that I know a war will come. I know you don't want to fight the Federation Ral but it's only a matter of time before they come after us. Already the General Assembly in Lhasa is being filled with anti-Zeon politicians when we have done nothing to cause this besides being the largest and most prosperous of the sides through our ingenuity and skill. Legislation is being moved forward that's attempting to place sanctions on us while the tight leash of the federal garrisons strengthen. Even now just months after the revelation of Newtypes, thousands of people across the sides are being persecuted just for being suspected of one. When most proper reports by Flanagan declare them to not be. While Gihren and I will not attempt to start a fight, we will be prepared for one, and when it does come we will end it in victory." I finish my little rant and look around in a mild embarrassment when I notice some of the men were watching my monologue. Thankfully most appeared to be patriotic and actually felt encouraged by my speech. I look back to Ramba and while he doesn't respond a slight smirk on his face shows he's at least satisfied with my response.

"All right that's enough with politics, it's time to focus on the here and now. And that is our group of guinea pigs for the first pilots. You think they'll succeed?"

"Well of course. After all they passed a rigorous exam to become a pilot just like you and I. They all show the skills necessary to operating a mobile suits, many show a wide range of talents from engineering to previous piloting on other vehicles. So long as we take this slow and steady while Zeonic and some of the other companies receive the data we use to develop new suits, then we should be very successful."

"And what about that small cadre of pilots that our great Vice Prime Minister pushed to join the program?" _'It looks likes I am not the only one who has noticed Gihren's actions. Damn that Ramba for being so perceptive.'  
_  
"Look, whatever reasons my brother chose those men and women are his own, but no matter what the makeup you won't find any reason to link it back to my family's political agenda. None of these people are connected to the Zabis or the SDSP in any form. I didn't even knew some of these people existed before I was handed the list of their names. Besides they all passed the flight training and got their licenses with flying colors. That means that they have some skills and it wasn't just nepotism for advancement."

"All right I'll back down. That still doesn't mean that your brother and family is up to something. While I've largely made peace with the Zabis after the..incident, I still can't fully trust you guys with all that's going on. In the past three years some strange activity has been going on, all of it being centered around Side 3. From the tech innovations, colony building, Mars, Newtypes, even these mobile suits, all of which took place in such a rapid and short amount of time on an unprecedented scale. My father may have been crazy, but he was right in one aspect, something is happening on Side 3 with the Zabis. While you guys may not be evil totalitarian Nazis bent on suppressing humanity, I have my theories that you guys are involved in all of this. And if you aren't then I don't want to know what sort of force is behind what's going on."

"Well your fears are somewhat justified. I too have been wondering about what has been happening these past couple of years. Every time I do try and find answers though I come up flat so I've given up on it and just decided to go with the flow. I will tell you one thing." I then lean close and whisper, "I'm a part of the Illuminati."

This causes Ramba to lose it and crack up at my joke."Oh come on Dozle you are far too unsubtle to be a part of that organization. I'm not stupid enough to believe that crap, though I do know some people who claim to be freemasons." Ramba looks up at the clock, telling the time is 6:49, "Well it looks like we better go. Orientation begins at 7;30 and I don't want to set a bad example to the men."

We finish our food in two minutes and then dispose of our trays and exit the mess hall as some of the enlisted and NCO's start to come in droves. We start to head through the halls of the moon base and it takes around ten minutes for us to reach our destination, meanwhile Ramba and I hold a conversation on the way there about the full details of our presentation. We arrive in the ready room where our MS wing will be holding debriefings and meetings before launches. Already some of the pilots are sitting in the room waiting while others make their way in as time flies by. By 7:29 almost everyone is here with 48 pilots present.

I take a quick look around and notice all of the pilots present that Gihren wanted. Steiner Hardy, Gaia Stine, Ortega Altuve, Mash Johnson, Cima Garantha, Visch Donahue, Andy Strauss, Gabriel Garcia, Mikhail Kaminsky, Gerhart Schmitzer. These were the 10 pilots who Gihren had personally selected. While I do not know if this was done as some sort of grand test or merely a political move, Gihren did actually give myself full authority to releive anyone from the program if they didn't make the cut. He never made any mention of specific exceptions so I took that meaning that I'm free to cut his people if need be. Though I'll give them an honest chance first before anything happens. As soon as the clock strikes halfway I make my way up to the podium as Ramba and I had taken a coin toss to decide who would go first and I had won.

"Attention!" I yell out. Everyone stands up straight and gives a salute in response. I wait a couple of second and then signal them to stand down. "At ease. As many of you know I am Commander Dozle Zabi of the Space Force. Standing besides my person is Lieutenant Colonel Ramba Ral of our Army. Unless you have been living under a rock I'm pretty sure you are well aware of our personas through the activities of our families. However, what happens in Side 3 domestically is strictly for the people of Side 3. As soon as you stepped foot on the moon you entered the turf of the military. And I will not allow for politics to divide our unit when we are trying to teach you how to defend your nation. So while you are free to have your own viewpoints I expect you to shut up on duty and follow orders, you're free to say whatever the hell you want offshift but I expect everyone here to give 110% during the day. Have I made myself clear!"

"SIR YES SIR!" _'Good now we won't our families politics interfere in training.'  
_  
"Any objections? Good, now that we have gotten that out of the way it's time to begin your introduction into the world of mobile suits. Now I know many of you probably wondered why you signed up to drive mechas at the beginning of the program. After all mobile suits are generally known to be slow cumbersome things and not generally good for much besides construction and debris. Well if you have been paying attention to the news then you'll know that Zeonic has just came out with the latest mobile suit that will revolutionize the Universal Century. The Waff.

The Waff here is a seventeen meter, ten ton titanium colossus of death that while it shall be used in the civilian world, will also become the forefront of our work on the mobile suit project. It's revolutionary design is due in much part to the Minovsky reactor. As shown here." I then open up a powerpoint presentation with schematics of the Waff. "The Waff is a fission reactor that allows for fully autonomous operations and lasting energy for the sustaining of the Waff in operations. While this suit is nuclear the reactor has been designed in such a way that the chances of any meltdown have been eliminated. _'Well there is a small .003% chance outside of external factors but the next model will reduce that even further.'_

"You all have run the simulations so you should know at least the basics of how to operate mobile suits. In the body of the Waff you will essentially be a six meter tall superhuman of steel, bringing awesome amounts of destruction and fury to the battlefield. Your armaments in the beginning shall be 120 mm explosive assault rifle, EX-T1-5 beam rifle, and a Type 3 heat hawk for melee. When we are done with you maggots by the dawn of 0070 you will have an expertise on mobile suits so proficient that no force in the Earth sphere will be able to stop you." I then stop as I notice a hand raised from the Gerhart fellow. "Yes Chief Scmitzer, you have a question?

The German Spacenoid rises up and gives his response "Sir. While I am more than willing to give my all to the project I am curious why we are choosing to develop mobile suits when there is the choice of starfighters, tanks and the danger of guided missiles in battle, sir."

"An excellent question. The reason we have chosen to pursue mobile suits is due to their sheer battlefield superiority on all other machines." I then played a video of Chalia Bull's test run in Zeonic. "As you can clearly see here Zeonic has already done multiple field tests of the Waff's capabilities against existing weaponry. In nearly all tests with the exception of certain scenarios where the pilot is overwhelmed by sheer numerical supremacy. The Waff has shown to outclass every single opponent in combat. And that is not even reaching its full potential with Minovsky particles."

Another hand raises again, this time from Cima, "Sir. Aren't Minovsky particles just some science hoax created by professor Minovsky in relation to his ideas of energy production?"

"I can understand your skepticism on M Particles as it wasn't until just recently that I was of the same mindset. However, in cooperation with Zeon's R&D, Minovksy particles have been developed in its early stages just this past year. While it is not a form of energy, what the particles are instead is a byproduct of Minovsky reactors that interfere with all known forms of communication. x-rays, visible light, ultraivolet, radio, microwaves, circuitry and electronics. All of which are fried under the effects of the ray. This is why the mobile suit has been developed since suits will be able to get in close range of enemy forces with their vision and obliterate the enemy while they're struggling to get their equipment fixed. Now this is classified as a state secret for the moment so absolutely no word of it is to leave this base. Any utterance until the time this information is public shall result in yourself being bradned a traitor to Zeon." I take a moment to let that information sink in. The pilots now realizing the gravity of the situation. "If there are no more questions then I shall deflect to Lieutenant Colonel Ral."

"Thank you." Ramba then stands up to the podium and gives his speech. "Now that you know what you are getting into its time to discuss our plan of operations for Grenada. For the next year you shall be a part of this base and train every single day in the usage of the Waff. We have 24 instructors here, including myself and the Commander that will guide you into becoming full fledged pilots for the Waff. Our training will consist of scenarios on both terrestial and space warfare in order to help you select a branch of the military which you will be best suited at. Training begins at 0700 in the morning and ends at 1800 sharply. Any deviations in the schedule shall only be relayed by either myself or the Commander. In the schedule shall also be included classes on officership, engineering, tactics, strategy, and millitary history. The reason being due to your roles as the first pilots of the MS Corps, which puts you in major leadership positions of Zeon's military. Every Monday we shall be doing weekly assessments to mark your progress in the program. And every two weeks is when we shall be dong war games. Where you pilots shall compete against each other to simulate the possibility of future outright MS warfare. All of this information can be found in folders located directly beneath your seats.

Finally as a little activity to motivate your performance. We shall be having a live combat scenario take place between two of our instructors. Leiutenant Junior Grade Chalia Bull and First Leiutenant Norris Packard. Both shall be piloting different colored Waff's, Bull the red and Packard blue, though each suit shall have the same standard armament and capabilities. If you look at the screen before you we shall have a livestream begin shortly of the exercises." Ramba then quits his talking and begins setting up the feed while all the pilots break discipline and begin to talk among themselves of the excitement of an actual mobile suit fight. Something that was actually revolutionary since it would be the first MS fight in history. 'Unless two Spacenoid bumpkins years back decided to highjack mobile suits and have a fight to the death. Oh whatever, this shall be the frst one in the military area. "Hey Dozle you wanna have a friendly little bet to see who wins? 25 credits says Packard has it in." Ramba says.

"I'll take you on that bet and raise it to 30. I happened to see Bull in action at Zeonic and I have full confidence that he can easily outmatch Packard."

"Deal." I grin internally at the bet as I have information that Chalia Bull is a low-class Newtype, something Ramba may not be aware of. The full set up takes a couple minutes until the screen shows the hangar of the base where the two MS are located. Both Packard and Bull's images light up on the display.

"Sirs. Lieutenant Chalia Bull reporting. All systems green and ready to go."

"First Lieutenant Norris Packard. Green to go and ready to kick some Jupiter ass."

"I have more experience then you Norris. It's best you remember that."

"Yeah ya old geezer. Everyone on the moon knows though that I am by far the superior pilot. The only thing you'll be seeing tonight is stars and a blue fist to the visor."

"Calm down men, calm down. While I'm glad you're excited to begin you must remember that this is a live exercise and you must treat it as such. Now lets state the rules before we begin. Both of you are armed with mock sidearms so there is to be no live fire, the only hits I want to see is displays on the radar and blunt strikes from the heathawk. You have exactly one hour to undertake the exercise and by the end whoever is eliminated or has taken the most amount of damage by the end of the time is dead, the other being the victor. You are free to use the terrain of the moon and whatever tactics you feel is necessary to gain a kill. If there is any time you are unable to perform or wish to surrender then you may press the warning button in your cockpit and the exercise will cease immediately. Good luck to both of you and may the best pilot win. Sieg Zeon."

Both pilots get ready in positions and the test begins immediately. "Chalia Bull, Launch!"

"Norris Packard, Launching!"

Both pilots then launch out of their respective sides and begin to enter the surface on the moon. Both pilots performing a perfect landing with their vierniers. The hunt begins when both men land and they begin to travel across the surface of Luna to find the other. The full radius of our testing grounds was 25 kilometers. While it would be a tremendous amount of ground to cover for regular troops the mobile suits could clear it in no time. Which both pilots did by using their jetpacks to leap and fly across the surface while their natural steps travel the distance of several meters in seconds. The terrain of our testing sight is what you would expect from most of Luna with it being covered in craters, rock formations, and a large difference in elevation in each different sector. Thankfully there were no canyons for dozens of kilometers so there was no risk of taking a sudden plummet.

The situation remains stationary for seven minutes as both pilots are doing their best to catch their respective prey. Meanwhile the pilot candidates are completely entrapped in the experience as this will serve as a reminder to their own future. The stalemate is broken when Chalia walks into an ambush set up by Norris and the blue Waff raises its bazooka and fires, unfortunately for him Chalia is able to take notice (most likely due to his newtype abilities) and dodges into a nearby crater. Narrowly missing it. Norris tries to solidify his temporary advantage by going on the offensive and firing his rifle" a few marks of which scrape Bull's suit from what the monitor gives. Chalia takes his time to properly react and then launches himself out of the crater and lays some covering fire on Norris. This working in a slight distraction but a few more hits land on Chalia, causing his damage to become 17%. Norris then tries to finish it off with his heathawk but Chalia singlehandidly parries it with his own and begins taking some shots at Norris, some of which land at close range causing Norris's damage to spike. Chalia then attempts to decapitate Norris but his Zaku leans back and avoids the melee weapon near centimeters while bringing up a right hook as a feint to Chalia's head. It works as Chalia dodges and jumps back while Norris uses his jetpack to leap back a kilometer.

Both men now begin a firefight using the terrain as cover while going back and forward in cat and mouse tactics. This exchange lasts for around six minutes and soon both sides use a couple of clips and are in danger of losing ammo. Both men could simply run away and attempt to outlast the other. But their pride as pilots prohibits that. Norris decides to finish it off by launching an intense barrage with his four remaining bazooka shells at Chalia's location. While Chalia dodges the debris Norris pours as much power into the engines and leaps out with heathawk in hand to finish Chalia in a single blow. Their damage stats in Chalia 61% while Norris holds 49%.

Before this could happen Chalia suprises Norris by being out of range of the debris, already knowing that the attack would be launched there, and strides forward while shooting. This unexpected assault knocks Norris off balance as he starts to take hits. Unfortunately Chalia ran out of ammo before he could finish and had to resort to his heathawk to end the fight. While it looked from the outside that the fight was in Chalia's favor, it was the exact opposite as Norris's expertise was in melee combat. When Chalia gets within five meters, Norris performs a kick to the shins of Chalia's Waff and causes the mobile suit to fall back. Norris then uses an external cable in his Waff's right forearm to launch out at Chalia's legs and cause him to fall back. Norris then strikes his heathawk at Chalia's right arm, causing the arm with the heathawk to become "detached", and then lands the killing blow by striking Chalia's cockpit. Giving him the kill.

The pilot candiates in the audience applaud at the conclusion and many are excited with the fight, much commotion caused by relaying of the recent events. Chalia and Norris call in with both acknowledging that their suits are in stable condition and then make their way back to base. The final score was Norris at 79% while Chalia was at 100 with a total kill. I look back at the results with my mouth wide open, the shock being caused due to a Newtypes loss to an Oldtype. Ramba then walks up to me with a smug grin on his face, "Well Dozle, if the pilots here perform half as well as those two then we should be in four an interesting year together. By the way it looks like somebody owes me a Deikun." ' _Damn you Ramba!'_


	16. Star Wars

**March 22nd, 0069**

It's been three weeks since Dozle has started his assignment on Granada and I have to say that I miss the big guy already. Growing up in my old life I only had one younger sister and while I did grow close to her in my last couple of years I had always wanted a younger brother to be by my side. Dozle managed to fulfill that role by becoming my sort of wingman in all sorts of ventures and being a general cool guy to hang around. While I have grown to love my new family if I had to pick one of whom to be the favorite it would have to be Dozle since we had managed to form the closest relationship in the last couple of years. Many days we would be working together side by side on mobile suits or reforming the military. And if we had any down time then we would spend the night out on the town, chasing whatever fun misadventures came our way. Still no matter how less exciting life would be without "Best Zabi" around I knew that what was happening was the best for Dozle. After only a few months piloting the Waff Dozle has already shown himself to be a prodigy in the art of mobile suits and is starting to develop his own theories on the future of MS combat and possible doctrines with usage in the greater solar system. He was already proving himself to be one of the most highly talented officers within the current defense force and by the time the war starts Dozle will probably still be commander of the Space Force not just because he's Degwin Zabi's son, but of his own merit. I was really proud of the guy as out of all the Zabi's in OTL UC Gundam Dozle was probably the one who got the most unfairly screwed over during the One Year War (though that's not counting Sasro who got assassinated by his own sister for crying out loud). Throughout the rise of Zeon other Gihren managed to become its virtual dictator, Kycillia became one of the most powerful humans alive through the creation of Zeon's spy network, and Garma became the virtual poster boy for the war effort and would've been Sovereign had Char not killed him, and what did Dozle get, practically crap in comparison. The man was forced to sit out at Solomon for most of the war while his other siblings all advanced their agendas, he got very little recognition for his effort in Zeon's populace even though he practically won the One Week Battle, got fried in the Big Zam by a brat in a Gundam, and worse of all he got to spend so little time with his newborn daughter before his death while his wife died next year and left little Mineva an orphan. If there's anyone who deserves a second chance from my insert then it damn sure is Dozle out of the rest of us. Though come to think of it I kind of wonder what would've happened if I was inserted into Dozle instead of Gihren. Would have been highly more difficult without the huge power I have now but it would've been an exciting challenge. Whatever the case I'll be praying for my brother's success so that Zeon can have the most badass and elite military to liberate the colonies.

Anyways with Dozle gone to train the first generation of ms pilots with Ramba and the upper brass along with Zeon R&D implementing the equipment reforms I basically had to wait my hands on the whole military front for several months until we started to see some immense progress. Besides that while we hadn't technically implemented most of the policies I set out, at the same time multiple bills were being drafted in parliament and all that was left was debate over the fine wording over the new laws and the specific routes that we would take under the new economic regulations and welfare programs. Since we already balanced the budget and got the military affairs out of the way we could take our time with this and get everything passed hopefully by the middle or end of summer. With that in mind I went to our next great topic of the state, education.

Now I admit that this was one area I kind of dropped the ball on with my programs. Having been inserted into Gihren while I was still in college gave me the sort of relief and mindset to stay as far away from the realm of education as possible since Gihren graduated university early and I had inherited his high IQ so there wasn't any real need to continue academics. At the same time with how tech-savy the kids were on Side 3 with computers and machines and the high level of learning that their being thrusted upon if Garma's homework is any indication. _'The boy is learning Algebra in the 4th grade, THE 4TH GRADE!'_ I thought we were perfectly capable in Zeon's education. Turns out that I was both right and wrong at the same time. By the time of my insertion Zeon had a relatively decent academic standard with its education policies but due to the poor conditions in the colonies we were still leagues below Terran education, sort of like America and China. Overall it wasn't really anything to worry about until I came in and forced all the tech-uplifts. Which while in truth did raise the living standards of Zeon substantially, opened up a whole new can of worms with the unintended side effects. The leaps and bounds we had made with years worth of technology in one had caused problems within our society where many citizens didn't know how to operate basic appliances anymore and were unsure how to handle laptops or cell phones. Our manufacturing sector was also in a state of paradox as while the new techniques have caused the GDP to skyrocket, there are scores of employees who don't know how to operate the machinery. Causing some unemployment which was only negated by the new opportunities that were being created at the same time. In fact on the first day in office the Secretary of Education submitted a lengthy report to Degwin and I stating that we needed to reform Zeon's education system immediately or else we could face a huge economic crises in seven years with the possible emergence of a tech recession. _'Oops'_. Taking the warnings to heart, Degwin and I set about to include education reform in our agenda and were using the new brain surge from Earth and the colonies to help in its stabilization. Tem Ray even came over and gave his opinions on how we could best prepare Zeonite society to adapt to mobile suits and the further integration of robotics. When it came to the implementation of this plan I had elected to sit out on this one since I had practically no idea on how to handle education and wasn't going to meddle in an area of the government where I wasn't fully needed. Instead I mostly just supervised as Zeon's department of education came up with a plan to put billions of credits in the development of trade schools, invest in the creation of universities that could rival the classic institutions on earth, create welfare programs to give those in poverty a chance at equal education, and a scholarship program that would not only give rides to bright struggling students in Zeon who could receive new access to higher education, but also other spacenoids who lived in the seperate sides.

The best part about all of this is that in the end it would be hugely beneficial to my plans for the One Year War anyways. With some great advice from Tem Ray the government was supporting a program that in cooperation with Zeonic and other up and coming MS corporations would give students who were adept at robotics chances to pilot mobile suits for civilian use so that they could be trained to use it in the construction and maintenance of the colonies. _'While at the same time joining the mobile suit corps in the future with some encouragement should they ever desire.'_ Newtype training has also been going phenomenally well since the revelation and the Flanagan Institute was currently flooded with applicants who wanted to test their Newtype abilities. The unprecedented amount of support and interest in Newtypes has allowed Flanagan to expand his work from a small institute within Zum City to becoming a national foundation with new research centers and Newtype training facilities being set up all across Side 3. At the same time we were interestingly getting some third parties to join in the Newtype boom occurring on Side 3, all of whom being created by major followers of Deikun's contolist theories who like Flanagan were working on Newtypes in the past but never had the proper funding or credibility for their work. Now these men and women who before were treated as conspiracy loons were emerging as leading figures in a new field of human evolution where their opinions and findings were treated as undisputed facts. Zeon was also getting wide recognition for its leading scientific and engineering figures who have emerged in the last two years, our most recent success story being Doctor Mitchum who recently won a nobel prize for his revolutionary prototypes of the first total synthetic copies of human limbs. I was extremely proud of all the work that my new country had done, hopefully after the war we can launch a golden age where mankind truly can understand one another and focus on the advancement of society and the human condition so that we may roam the stars in bliss and prosperity. A rather idealistic utopia in hindsight, but I'll accept any situation where the solar system doesn't collapse over multiple wars between a corrupt one world government and the remnants of a dying independence movement.

Anyways back to the topic of Dozle, his absence actually produced a rather interesting scenario due to the butterflies that this would have on one person, mainly my brother Garma. In OTL Gundam where Gihren was an asshole, Sasro dead, and Kycillia being bat shit crazy (will she still is sometimes but rather in a more restrained way) Garma naturally chose to bond with his older brother Dozle due to the fact that the two brothers were quite literally the only normal members of the Zabi family. Well, as normal as a hulking behemoth and a boy with naturally purple hair can get. _'Seriously, our family genetics are weird. I've been looking in past medical records and I still can't find an answer why our hair genes are literally a bunch of rainbows.'_ This made them sort of partners in war as exemplified by Dozle serving under Garma's Zeon Reborn in Gihren's Greed. Now with Dozle gone for a year at the very least and his future path looking to keep him away from Side 3, it looks like Garma has now lost his mentor figure. And that's where I come in. Now from what little I've already done I can safely say that I've moved Garma's fate to that of more of an happy ending. Mainly due to the fact that his best friend is his real friend and not some angsty Vader-clone who is on a revenge killing spree due to the loss of his father. Since Garma now treats Casval as pretty much his fourth brother I've mostly stepped aside from interfering and allowed the two boys to develop their friendship independently. Still while I may have prevented Garma from dying via Gaw kamikaze in New York, 'or was it Seattle? Or New Orleans? Los Angeles? I don't know the episode never specified where he died besides North America.' He's still got a long ways to go in order to survive the war, and life in general. Garma, while being friends with Casval, is still somewhat of a social mess as while the boy is rather outgoing he still hasn't formed very many meaning relationships in life outside of his family. Garma is still rather naive of what goes on in the general lives and conditions of most people, though that may be due to my pre-insert actions influence along with Degwin's sheltered raising of him. While in general he is a rather nice and well behaved kid, the problem is that he is too nice and way too trusting when it comes to dealing with others. Making him rather unprepared to deal with politics like the rest of the family. Still it's too early to give up hope as Garma is still just a growing boy and I have been doing my best to prepare him for the beginning of his journey as a prince of Zeon.

Over these past two years I've helped to develop Garma's mental abilities and and academics while Dozle took the more direct route of physical training. While I wasn't a strict teacher I did my best not to hold back and teach Garma of the reality of our world and what he'll need to expect when he leaves school. It's good character buildup as while he still has a feeling of obligation and desire for independent achievements, it's more out of a desire of duty to Zeon rather than trying to desperately prove his worth as the youngest member of the Zabis. He's in general become more politically aware and is wanting to observe our family activities more, one of his main lessons being an accompaniment with me to work and watching how both father and I run Zeon (though never have we ever let him get close to the classified and morally grey activities that we undertake. There's always a time to grow up and now is not such the place where Garma needs to lose his innocence yet.). All of this was being done by myself in order to train him, train him to become the next leader of Zeon should I fail in my mission. While I did mean every word I said in the Jimbajacking where I had faith that Kycillia would be able to lead Zeon in my place should something happen, the reality is that Garma is the only member of our family that would be perfect for the position. His anime counterpart had all the traits of a good leader with high charisma, talent in military leadership and organization, a general knowledge in statesmanship, and the high public support of the citizenry and status as their beloved prince. While everyone of our siblings had one or another of those traits, no one would be able to quite pull it off like Garma could. So the general mission was to lead him to become his original older self without all the vengeful friends and personality quirks that had prevented him from succeeding. Now don't get the wrong idea, if Garma wanted to stop this training and not pursue the Zabi life then I would be more accepting of such a decision. The thing is that Garma did not want to do such a thing at all. Quite the contrary he was actually heading to this destination himself.

Initially when Garma declared that he and Casval would be working together to head to the academy I thought that it was more of a long-term dream that they would be working towards in the future. Fortunately I was wrong as both Garma and Casval were doing their best as of right now to try and get ready for their official induction into the defense force. Garma recently had been looking towards materials of militarily history and strategy by studying different conflicts from the Word War era (1914-2001) while he had been taking his overall schoolwork more seriously in order to get ready for the academy's rough curriculum. I had also been in contact with Astraia and she told me how Casval had been undergoing a similar self-imposed study. The main difference between the two boys being that of Casval's Newtype studies in order to develop his powers. Earlier on in the year both Casval and Artesia headed to the institute to get tested in what was unfortunately a much publicized affair due to the public being curious of the status of Zeon Deikun's children being Newtypes. Like in the anime both Casval and Artesia were confirmed Newtypes with Casval getting a classification of a B-class Newtype while to his embarrassment Artesia had received a score of being an A-class. I developed a hypothesis on the case where Artesia was shown to be more powerful due to several of her Newtype moments as Sayla on the White Base and the overall connection she showed to other crewmembers such as Amuro towards the end of the series. Whereas Casval, AKA Char, was more of a Newtype in afterthought as the Red Comet had always triumphed more in pure skill than psychic powers. I had worried that Garma might become jealous from his friend's status as a Newtype but fortunately he had been very understanding and sought to naturally fill the gap with his own skill rather than psychic might. When Dozle came back from Granada he promised to tutor the boys personally to prepare them for their life at the academy. Considering that both of them placed 1st and 2nd at the Class of 0077 rankings OTL then it would be interesting to see how this new training would turn them out in the future.

Actually as of right now I was sort of helping in that regard by accompanying Garma to our local Barnes and Noble (Ironic isn't it that the place where I was killed not only managed to survive in this timeline but thrive) and help him buy books for military history since they had a spring sale going on (though we didn't need to worry about the money too much since the Zabis were loaded). Lately Garma had taken an interest in the second world war and was trying to get books on the subject. This was actually pretty good source material for our future conflict since the One Year War was a sort of copy-n-paste of the subject into Gundam with Zeon clearly being a mix of Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. Some people say you don't learn anything useful from the past but in my fair opinion if every Zeon officer read a Ken Burns book on the matter then they wouldn't have acted so damn near idiotically from Loum to A boa Qu.

At the moment I was currently in the per-Universal Century section of the store while Garma was a few rows down looking at some biographies of the time period. I wasn't too worried about his safety since we had come in early to avoid the chance of large public crowds and he had at least two secret service agents shadowing him at all times. Having helped him earlier I gave myself the opportunity to look at some of the developments that had happened in my former time while I was gone. While Tomino never bothered to write a comprehensive encyclopedia about what happened prior to each show's era or how they are somehow all connected to Turn A Gundam (something I believed was false since SEED) it didn't mean that we had just time jumped from 1979 to the current day. What took place was a rather comprehensive and interesting near 150 years that would've made for a Turtledove worthy TL on alternatehistory. With Reagan's Star Wars taking off the Republicans held onto their Cold War coalition for a few more decades while the Third World War became a rather epic confrontation with the West wiping off communism for good. There was no 9/11 event in this time for America which had turned the entire social structure of America into a completely different picture by 2017 alone. The stalling of computer advancements had caused technological developments to be switched to robotics with mobile suits and space exploration getting more heavily invested with the first permanent moon base being created in 2020. Cancer had been cured long ago but new strains had shown up and in the case of people like Alice there were times were it would be too late to administer the cure. There was actually a brief hardcore secessionist movement for a period of time. Bernie Sanders became President in 2017! All in all some rather weird but interesting outcomes.

I was looking at a biography of said President Sanders when Garma came strolling along with a rather full bag. "So Garma did you get what you needed?"

"Yeah I managed to find what I was looking for since there were rows I could pick from. I understand it's an important event but I don't see why so many people in the late 20th century were kind of obsessed with the subject." _'Well Garma just be fortunate you don't have to experience what it's like to be part of such an amazing generation that went through so much, well at least not yet.'_ Hearing that remark actually tipped my interest on how exactly our literature would deal with the aftermath of the One Year War if we managed to win. Would there be countless scores of printed materials focusing on the rise and power of the Zabi family? Textbooks telling of the titanic battles of Loum and Odessa? Scientific journals dedicated to mobile suits and the creation of the Gundam? And alternate history novels where the Zabi's lose or I became a genocidal maniac? _'Basically OTL.'  
_  
"There were some pretty interesting books that I found such as "Island Hopping in the Pacific" "Building Doomsday" "Fuhrer and Fatherland" "Our Darkest Hour" and "The Path of the Desert Fox". Are these good choices?"

"I'd actually say you have a fine taste in books from what you have chosen. Pretty good since I was thinking I might have to help you in finding one." Indeed although all of these books didn't technically exist, or at least to my general knowledge in my old life, they were pretty acclaimed books on the subject in the Universal Century. I only read Fuhrer and Fatherland but that read was sort of an enlightening find since there were many parallels to what happened to Zeon in the original war. While I was doing my best to make Zeon a completely different nation it was probably bound for us to retain some of our quirks in this timeline and the more Garma learned of how to apply those lessons to his life then the better prepared he would be on Earth, if he was still part of the invasion force.

"Thanks for coming with me today Gihren. I really appreciate whenever we go out together. It's nice to see you relax outside of work."

"Don't think a single thing about it Garma. I'm free any time. Just remember that I'll be busy Mondays through Sundays." I say with Garma giggling a little bit at my joke. We're pretty much ready to go now and I'm about to head to the checkout to pay for my books when a rather intersting sight catches my eye. On a shelf in the movie section was a limited edition boxset of the original Star Wars trilogy! While these were somewhat common back home they were a unique rarity in our time after 150 years since the show's release. Star Wars thankfully surviving the pop culture changes thanks to the movie coming out in '77 and the entire Gundam franchise having been based off this movie. I quickly run with the speed of a cheetah to obtain the boxset before anyone got any ideas and grabbed it off the shelf. It was being sold for $150 credits but I didn't give a damn about paying that much money if it meant getting this treasure. While UC Gundam was one of my favorite anime series my alltime series in fiction since I was three was always Star Wars. Coming here to the world of Gundam was actually quite the blessing since here the Expanded Universe remained canon and the prequels were actually good. As any fellow Star Wars fan would act, passing on the opportunity to grab the original tapes was a huge waste. After all you could buy the movies online in Zeon but they were all of the special editions. Han shot first dammit! "Oh my God! Oh my God! after two years of searching I finally found the original tapes! Truly my life is complete!"

I spend a few seconds fanboying over the find while Garma walks over puzzled. "Gihren, I don't understand why your acting so weird. What's Star Wars?"

I freeze and immedeately turn to the Heretic, I mean my misguided brother who dared insult this masterpiece of a space opera. "What are you talking about Garma? Star Wars is the pincale of all science fiction works and the movie that birthed the great genre that we call space opera. You should be lucky since we are all practically living the Star Wars galaxy with Newtypes for Jedi and ships that take us across the stars to build the colonies. Wait? Did you just say you don't know what Star Wars is?" I say flabergasted.

"No. I heard it's good but I'm not really a fan of antique movies. Did you watch it without me?" Oh my God. How could I have possibly lived in this world for two years and not show Garma Star Wars. I practically would watch it pretty much every few months for fun, was I too busy working to have enlightened my younger brother on the subject. Forget Zeon. Forget Gundams, Zakus, and Newtypes. This poor plebeian before me needed to experience George Lucas's masterpiece.

"Oh poor Garma. Garma, Garma, Garma. How I've completely failed you as an older brother if I never bothered to watch this even once with you. Clear your schedule of everything going on tonight my dear brother. For tonight is movie night where I show you what true art is!" I quickly pay for Garma's books and the VHS set so that we can go home and prep for movie night. Luckily the tech lag caused everyone to still have a VCR set until a few years ago and we hadn't thrown ours away just yet. Although looking back I feel like I should've explained things better to Garma who was probably stunned by how Gihren Zabi fanboyed for this first in his life.

Later that night the two of us did watch the trilogy with a back-to-back marathon of both a New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. I am proud to say that I converted my brother since Garma became hooked after Darth Vader entered into Tantine IV. It was practically priceless seeing him watch Empire Strikes Back where Darth Vader revealed that he was Luke's father. The phrase has apparently exited out of mainstream pop culture nowadays so Garma was truly shocked to hear of this plot twist. He wanted to watch Return of the Jedi but it was getting late and I wanted to make the poor kid suffer a bit with the ending where Boba Fett had captured Han and the fate of Luke's training in the sequel.

"Man Gihren that was the best movie I've ever seen. I can't believe how much the special effects hold up after so many years. But I don't understand why Darth Vader would be Luke's father. They never had anything that built up to it and it came out almost out of nowhere. What happened to Han by the way, is he still alive? Why are stormtroopers such terrible shots? What were the Clone Wars? Why was New Hope referred to as Episode IV when it's the first movie?"

"Patience my padawan. All will be revealed be revealed in the future and more. We've got Return of the Jedi to go through and then there's the prequels, sequels, the EU, the games, and much much more."

"Okay. So long as we watch Jedi by the end of the week then I can wait. Now I can at least understand why Ronald Reagan chose the name Star Wars for his defense project. I never really understood why such a weird name was given to an orbital defense system. Does the federation still have it going on today?"

"Well as of right now Star Wars has been decommissioned for nearly the past century since there hasn't really been a threat of a nuclear war outside of some rogue terrorists on Earth. Now whatever's left of that program is sitting either in a scrap heap on Earth or in some sort of museum either there or in the colonies as a reminder of how nearly the world was close to nuclear annihilation."

"Are you and Dozle planning to bring it back for Zeon. I remember learning in astronomy about how our side in particular can be damaged by a stray meteor shower or comet every now and then since we're on the dark side of the moon. If you build up an orbital defense system then we can blow up any objects that can destroy the colony and not have to spend so much time trying to strengthen the exterior. Oh since you guys are working on mobile suits do you think it's possible that there can be lightsabers used as weapons for a Waff. I think it would be a really cool way to take down some pirates."

"Well don't tell anyone this but we are trying to develop what's called a beam saber which is a near replica of a lightsaber and produces the same effects on a much larger scale." This linformation lit up Garma's eyes as he now had the ability to act like a jedi if he joined the future mobile suit corps. "And as for your idea of an orbital defense system while it is a great idea I don't think we are in too much of a risk from terrestial objects to have to build Star Wars II. Although it would make for a nice deterrent if we were to get into another war..." Call it my high IQ or the fact that I had been thinking of similar ideas for a while, but a full proof plan to defend the colonies just came to my mind. And it all came because I decided to watch Star Wars with my brother. Who said sci-fi was a waste of time. "Garma, you're a genius!"

"But I got a B minus on my chemistry test." Garma says, confused by my revelation.

"Look it's not that, you just gave me a great idea for the future of Zeon. Look I'll be heading to my room right now to get some work done so good night. If all goes well I'll be busy the next few days but I'll finish Jedi with you next week as soon as I get the chance. I then run back to my room and get the tech encyclopedia book out and start researching everything of the Strategic Defense Initiative on the internet. If I manage to pull this off then Zeon won't have to worry about being on the defensive for the entire war.  
 **  
March 24th, 0069  
**  
Right now I was in my office at the capitol with multiple files and papers of research spread out across the desk. It was a mess to be sure but a necessary one for my next meeting that was about to take place. Speaking of, in comes my guest of the day as Kycillia comes strolling in her purple uniform. For some reason she has a slight look of agitation on her face, probably relating to our current matter. "What do you want Gihren?" Kycillia asks with a tone of annoyance in her voice.

"Why Kycillia, I'm deeply hurt, does there have to be a reason that I have to have an agenda whenever I meet with my favorite sister in the whole colony? What if I just wanted to have a nice casual conversation with you about our day?"

"First of all Gihren when it comes to our relationship there is hardly anything that's casual about it. Anytime you want to meet with me, _especially_ during work hours it's always to introduce some crazy scheme for Side 3 on mobile suits, the federation, Newtypes, our family, or just anything and everything in between. If you just wanted to have a talk with me then there wouldn't be any need to have multiple papers lying around, especially when you've got an entire folder labelled Projects with Kycillia." _'She does have me there.'_ While I do appreciate the trust for these jobs you can't just constantly demand for my involvement in literally every single plan you cook up. I'm only one person and I do happen to have a life outside of espionage." _'You do?'_ "Besides, I'm your only sister so that means I'm your least favorite in addition to your favorite." she retorted.

"Okay...while I am sorry to have caused so much stress it's not like I'm just wasting your time, these are valuable plans that will come to bring about Zeon's prosperity in the future. It's not my fault that have the stuff I do has to go through you, your job is Director of Security and Intelligence after all it's not like anyone forced you to enter that position. And for the record we have done casual stuff in the past, remember our family trip to Francheska last year?"

"I thought we agreed never to talk about Francheska again Gihren?!" _'Yeah that place is the worst shithole in Side 6. Now I know why Bernie decided to stay and fight Gundam Alex. He may have died, but he was a badass that brought down a Gundam and he never had to step foot on that place. Seriously, FUCK Francheska!'_ "Look whatever, let's just get this over with." Kycillia says, sighing in defeat as she sits down in the desk in front of me.

"Look sorry again for the hassle, but this time I just wanted to update you on what I have planned right now. It's going to be a long-term project anyways so take your time on this and don't feel the need to rush. Now the other day I was watching Star Wars with Garma.."

"That cheesy space flick from the 20th century?" says Kycillia while rolling her eyes.

"Hey, that movie is the greatest of all time, a timeless classic and true work of art! Sorry about that little outburst, anyways getting back on topic. After I was done watching the movie Garma gave me a brilliant idea for what could save Side 3 in a future war with the Federation."

"So where basing our plans off of our nine year old brother and old sci-fi series?"

"Look inspired is more the appropriate term for what happened. Anyways after the movie Garma brought up the topic of the old Strategic Defense Initiative and how we could use it to defend the colonies from asteroids and all sorts that plague Zeon." Kycillia nodded in understanding at that as those types of occurances were sadly common in today's day and age for the 2 billion citizens of Side 3. "While that is a noble idea and all I got to thinking of how we could use it for other purposes, specifically against the Federation."

"Go on." says Kycillia, now intrigued by where I'm going with this.

"As you know we have a huge surplus even with all the new spending of the defense and welfare bills that are being passed. At this point the public will practically praise whatever father proposes unless it's something absolutely ludicrous. What I propose is this. We create this Star Wars II but call it a Colonial Defense Umbrella that is meant for protecting our colonies against the dangers of space. The citizens approve of it thinking they'll be protected from the void while the Federation doesn't bat an eye due to so the real needs of such a program. What we'll do instead is have a small number of probably a hundred satellites dealing with said threat, while in actuality we build thousands more and spread them across the colonies with the real intent of acting as a nuclear umbrella against possible attacks by the Federation. Thereby saving hundreds of millions of lives and preventing the feds from wiping us out with the push of a button."

"But didn't you and Dozle say that our plan was to launch a preemptive strike against the Federation to liberate the other colonies. Surely our mass technological superiority can overwhelm the EFSF in the field."

"You're right about that and you do have an extremely valid point as that is generally the plan, especially with the implementation of mobile suits and armor. However what if the Federation decides to attack first, what if they decide to put a missile silo on the moon. What then? Will we sit back and allow our colonies to be wiped out before even putting up a fight? I say never! There may be a possibility that this defense network may never have to be used but if we allow even the smallest 1% chance to slip by then it is the end for Zeon."

"What about the Minovsky effect though? And how will these nuclear missiles be combated?"

"Well in relation to the Minovsky effect that we will probably blanket the colonies with once the war starts, while it might prevent the Federation from launching a pinpoint attack they can still deal heavy damage in a wide salvo. That is why we need thousands of these spread all around. They may have a limited range, but the accuracy will be absolutely perfect with the new targeting systems being coded into the defense systems. In terms of defense we can use the new offensive technologies to combat nukes. One shot from a megaparticle canon is sure to wipe out a nuke and if done at the proper range will have no effect without any form of mass to build the blast radius on. There are other methods for cheaper use such as railguns and other missile platforms. We only have to look at the Resource Wars and the Third World War to see that this method has been used successfully in the past. What I need from you specifically Kycillia is the more covert side of the operations. I don't want the public or Earth to find out about this since it means that we will lose our trump card. So in the next couple of months while our research team comes up with an actual plan I need you to submit a report on how to maintain secrecy of the program and selecting operators to control the autonomous platforms. We can't just let some Barry Goldwater come into the program and decide to go nuts with it."

Kycillia seemed to think of the offer of what to do for a few second as she came up with a response to this proposition. "This is actually one of your more realistic plans yet Gihren. It is something necessary if we're going to be fighting a war against the federation yet at the same time this isn't something implausible or too out of reach like your Dolos." _'The Dolos is a damn fine ship and I will see it join the Space Force if it's the last thing I do! Just you wait!'_ "We only need to look at the Americans and Soviets for examples on how to run a type of operation like this. All that's needed is extensive background checks and constant personnel switches every three years with a monthly code change. Basically a near copy of the current nuclear plans. Just give me some time and information from R&D and my people can come up with something in a few months."

"Thanks sis, knew I could count on you! Here are some files and copies of the plans I came up with in the past few days. Take your time to look over it at home and I'll pitch the plan to Karn in the meantime. Keep up the good work Kycillia. The people may not know of what you do but at least we can all go to bed knowing our country is ever more secure from the gravity of Earth."

 **A/N: I'd like to thank everyone for patiently sticking around and waiting for the next chapter. Sorry for the delay but real life kept on getting in the way. Luckily I was able to finish the chapter today so here we go. Next chapter will be very important as not only will it be the start of the Principality Arc, but we'll also get to see Cecilia enter the story. Also as flevantien and a guest reviewer pointed out, many people may be wondering how I will write future POV chapters. Well for now the first couple years of the story will be focused on Kaiser Gihren, the Zabis, and various other important people on Side 3. Whenever the POV changes is usually when the plot of the chapter revolves around their introduction or impact in the story, such as Jorge Marcenas or Chapter 14 with the Ray's. I will let you guys know that I have two important POV's in the future with Revil and Degwin. Hopefully their chapters will turn out alright and we'll get to see various other characters enter the spotlight. People like Garma and Casval won't start making regular POV appearances until 0074 when the plot really starts to kick off. The One Year War will be a special case of this with multiple chapters of different characters between Kaiser Gihren's appearances. Hopefully that answers your questions. Thanks once again for reading and stick around for more. Happy Valentine's Day and Sieg Zeon!**

And now for a special Valentine's poem: _Char Custom's are Red  
Gouf's are Blue  
Please accept my Valentine  
Or I'll drop a colony on you!_


	17. Fateful Meetings

**April 14th, 0069**

"Thank you for taking the time to come here today. We will be done with the interview process in a couple days at which time we will give you a call and let you know of the outcome. Have a nice day!" I put a smile on my face as the man who I was currently interviewing walked out of the office after a further exchange of pleasantries with him well out of the room after about thirty minutes. As soon as I hear the footsteps get faint I let go of my friendly smile and sit back with an exhausted expression and a release of a sigh from my lungs. The reason for my current discomfort? Well I was currently on the hunt for a personal aide, and I had to go through with the ninth consecutive interview today. Right now being a quick twenty minute break to relax and prepare for the next one.

The reason for my current predicament was due to the fact that my current secretary and aide, Boris Sebreyakov, had just announced at the beginning of last month that he was going to quit soon. It wasn't due to any complications of the job or my treatment of him really as the man had been doing a fine job these last two years and I paid him well with some decent benefits for his hard work at getting my agenda done during my time as Colonial Secretary. It was more of a personal matter for the man instead as he told of how his parents on Luna had been suffering a fatal chronic illness, first his mother last year and now his father, so he needed to relocate to Grenada in order to take care of his family. This in and of itself was a more than reasonable request to leave and so I wished him the best and arranged for a large monetary transfer to his bank account in order to take care of the medical bills, something that Boris was more than grateful for, him staying at the moment until the time I could appoint a new aid. In truth I was partly glad that something like this had come up recently, as I was planning to fire the man soon anyhow.

Now like I said before there really hasn't been any issue with his performance yet, but the main problem instead lied with the future and how we were going to start transitioning to the fascist principality of the Zabis. While Boris is a good guy he isn't one who I had involved in really any of my dirty work in the past, using only family contacts and resources instead. His work ability could also best be called above average, and in order to run a authoritarian state of two billion people I needed someone of the highest capabilities to be my right hand man or woman in charge. This was important now more than ever due to the fact as pointed by Kycillia, I tended to push my grandiose ideas and projects onto everyone else without much thought into the amount of work and effort necessary to complete it. Therefore I had to build up my own inner circle within the government in order to see a direct implementation of the policies necessary to prepare for the war. I had already started out in that regard with getting into contact with Aguille Delaz for my military confidant now that Dozle wasn't present in Side 3 for the moment. While I thought that meeting with Delaz would reveal him to be some sort of diehard fascist like 0083 depicts him to be, it turns out that he really is mainly a by the numbers man with a heavy presence in authority and only just now starting to get into the ideals of Gihren Zabi. This is probably mostly due to the fact that Delaz would have been recruited around this time OTL and would have been more heavily influenced by Gihren into his radical spacenoid supremacist ideology. With my acting as Gihren, Delaz would probably just become more of a MacArthur like personality with a gun ho attitude and a heavy shifting towards military and centralized government control. He's actually been an extremely valuable asset so far in the creation of the new space force fleets and once Kycillia's department finalizes the plan for the colonial defense array then I'll probably have him take a look at it. After all no average Joe could've possibly planned the immense undertaking that was Operation Stardust.

While looking at papers of the various applications so far I get a call on my personal cell, the caller id revealing it to be Sasro. "Hello, Gihren Zabi, prodigal son of Degwin Zabi speaking."

"That's a lie and you know it Gihren." says Sasro with a little bit of a grunt in his voice." I laugh a little at his response. While I may not interact with Sasro as much as Dozle, Garma, or Kycillia, I've still come to rely on him immensely after all this time and he's become a good right hand for the domestic side of policies. Whenever I need help on getting legislation passed through the party, planning a Zabi rally somewhere in the colonies, or managing the media focus on our family; Sasro could always be counted on to solve the job. While in many ways the most prideful and egotistic of our family, Sasro can be a decent man from time to time and we do have decent relations both at work and home, with Sasro helping to manage the family gardens that I had started in our house. Overall he was a really interesting guy and a great partner to have by my side when dealing with the running of the colonies. It's a shame that Kycillia went crazy and decided to bomb him for spite (though to be fair at the time of my insertion things were really that bad between the two that if I had done nothing it could've easily happened again), if we had him around to deal with Side 3 in the One Year War then maybe Zeon would've been closer to victory.

"Yeah I'm just messing with you bro, no need to be so serious all time time. So how are things going at the moment. I presume that you have some important news to reveal." Sasro was never one to make casual calls as he was a strictly business type of guy. Usually whenever we talked outside of the house it was mainly in relation to work, and when he did call it would just be sending a message to Boris to let me know of happenings. He only really called my cell whenever or talked directly through the office landline when it was important family dealings or something that would affect the entirety of Side 3.

"I called today to let you know that we have just achieved a major victory for the family. Turn on ZNN and you will soon know what just happened on Earth." A little bit puzzled by his statement I pick up the remote to turn on the television that I had installed at the corner of the office and switched the channel to ZNN, or local equivalent of CNN with a rough bias towards our family. When the channel did come on my eyes widened in shock and mouth widening into a smile over the news piece."

"This is a ZNN special news alert. Moments ago the Federal Parliament in Lhasa has just passed a motion allowing the creation of a referendum on Side 3 to set up the Zabi family as monarchs of the Republic of Zeon, officially turning our nation into a principality. The Zabi monarchist movement is one that has been of a small minority within Zeon for the past couple of years, but had been gaining momentum with the actions of Prime Minister and Vice Minister Degwin and Gihren Zabi respectively, along with those of other public servants, Sasro, Dozle, and Kycillia Zabi. Although the Zabi family has been reported to have no ties to the creation of the movement nor have they officially endorsed it, that hasn't stopped the growing numbers of millions of Zeonite citizens from wanting to see them be created as permanent rulers. Earlier on March 28th the Zeon Parliament passed a motion to officially submit the motion for a referendum to Lhasa in order to have it be approved and legalized for a proper vote. Vice Minister Gihren had earlier released a statement that while the call for his family's rise as monarchs is unexpected, nevertheless they will have it take place and will abide by whatever decision the people of Zeon decide to take. Joining us now are political analysts.." After hearing enough information I then mute the channel and turn on my computer to search in full detail of what had recently occurred. Information on several website are sketchy since Zeon seems to be the only one who has fully integrated themselves with the internet, however multiple news sources are confirming that the approval was passed by a small majority in Lhasa, meaning that we are finally able to move forward with the plan.

"Hot damn Sasro you actually did it! We're finally on the road of turning our family into the rightful permanent rulers of Zeon. How did this manage to pass by the Federation? I thought we were regarded very lowly on Earth?"

"Well Gihren while the Terrans are not fond of you or I they are careful observers of the status quo. At any time when their precious articles or system is threatened then they'll cave into pressure so long as their control of the colonies is secure. You see our legal team led by Attorney General Jeff Dean was able to find a legal opening for this precedent due to the monarchist articles in the Federal Constitution. As you know when the Federation was created there were several monarchies in the middle east who didn't want to see any absolving of their absolute power, along with the popular sentiments in the west for the keeping of their constitutional monarchs. Due to this, several clauses of the Federation not only protects the right to keep said monarchs as head of state, but allows for certain situations to happen where monarchs are allowed to be voted into power. This was mainly due to the brief but popular Tsarist movement in Russia and the Shah restoration after the downfall of Iran. With the wide popular support we've been receiving at home, along with Kycillia's agents bribing Federal MP's, we were able to get the necessary votes needed. We should be careful moving forward though, we could possibly see some form of retaliation from Marcenas in the future."

"Yes I know, at the same time we gotta focus on shifting attention from the military so that the buffoons at Jaburo don't start getting ideas and wake up research and production on mobile suits. Given enough time we should be able to outperform them if they lag behind several years, but Earth's production capabilities can still outmatch us even with the rise of 3-D printing. Overall we shouldn't worry too much. The benefits will far outweigh the risks involved and it would be nice to establish a dynasty for our family legacy that can last generations. You should especially be happy about all this Sasro since you would become second in line to the throne. Any ideas or strategies I should undertake in the coming months?" I ask.

"We don't necessarily have to start anything at the moment since it's going to take time for my team to begin working on the campaign. In an hour I'll be heading over to meet with father on the subject so that we can prep him for his role as the primary candidate for Sovereign. As for you Gihren, you can keep doing what you're doing right now since the public seems to love your policies, but I'll need you to make trips on the campaign trail in order to secure votes. Though we may be beloved by the people for the most part, a single event or possible scandal can easily change the outcome at a later date. In order to secure victory you'll have to pull the most weight since you seem to have the most charisma and are admittedly the best orator our family has got. Also besides assuring the public of father's capabilities we need to sell you to the people since you will become the heir in the new principality which translates into becoming the future leader."

"Alright I can deal with that. Naturally we may have some opponents left in Zeon, plenty of independents having survived the downfall of the Ral's, but there isn't really anyone we can face. What's most important is the reaction of the other sides to this. Sasro, I'm going to need you to direct a portion of the publicity to the other colonies so that we can assure them that this power move isn't going to affect relations towards them or lead to any possible expansionist plans. Neo-Zeon movements are on the rise but a significant portion of the colonies still don't trust us. Who can blame them since we're actively taking their jobs. You don't have to try and get them to join Zeon, just keep them from getting into Earth's camp." This plan was necessary to the long-term goals of Zeon as I desperately needed to get the other colonies to start becoming anti-Earth and pro-Zeon. While it might be a stretch to get them to become annexed in one big Anschluss movement like Nazi Germany, I'm hoping we can at least get them to become neutral like Side 6 and the Riah Republic OTL. That way we won't have to attack them and possibly face the death of hundreds of millions of spacenoids in our quest for independence."

"That's going to be a little bit difficult but so long as the domestic front is stable then it should be manageable. Do you think you could possibly come over when I'm meeting with father so that way we can work this out together instead of having to push for another family meeting later?" asks Sasro.

"I'd love to but I can't, currently I'm swamped with interviews for a new aide position. Yeah I can just get Boris or someone else to do all this work, but if I'm going to be getting someone who's going to coordinate all of my plans for the family and Zeon in the future then I want to know that the person I'm hiring is capable for the job."

"I can understand the feeling, finding good help is so hard these days. I honestly wonder how father was able to create our family power some days as managing the current hold we have with so many incompetent underlings is such a hassle. You almost done?"

"Well not quite, at this right I can say that we've barely scratched a third of the applicants, and that's not even counting any potential additions later. My next one is going to come in right about ten minutes or so. I'll be meeting with some woman around Sasro's age named Cecilia Irene." _'Wait, what the hell! The Cecilia Irene! Gihren's mistress secretary from the show. How the fuck is that possible, I thought she was like nine now?'_ This is bad, really bad. Right after my insertion I made a quick list of several of the Universal Century characters. The people who I needed to join Zeon, the people who I needed to kill, and those that I needed to avoid like the plague. Cecilia just happened to be at the very top of the last list. Now she may not have shown up at much during the anime and lore besides some cameos and appearances in minor manga and light novels, but she was still someone I could not associate with. After all if I was Zeon's Hitler, then by that logic she was Zeon's Eva Braun. Something that could absolutely not happen. Now I never planned to do much with her besides just leave her to pursue whatever the hell she wanted in life. After all the fact that Haman Karn is a happy toddler who Garma babysits every now and then shows the fact that people can change given a great enough divergence in their life before things went to shit for them. After all it's not like Hitler is always going to turn out as an anti-semite or ruler of Germany in every possible scenario in the multiverse, life was much more complicated than that. But how could Cecilia be 17, the wiki said she was 19 in 0079, what could possibly change all that. _'Oh right, I'm in the Origin timeline where a good chunk of canon is practically thrown out the window. Fuck.'_

"Uh hello, Gihren? Are you still there?" asks Sasro. I blink a few times and realize that I must have probably spaced out thinking on the subject while Sasro was still on the line. Unfortunately I can't really pay any more attention as I have to diverge focus to this important development.

"Sorry about that Sasro. Look, something just came up and I need to let you go. I'll call you when I'm done and we can talk with father and Kycilla on the principality when I come home. Ok, bye!" I immediately hang up without giving Sasro so much as a chance to reply. While it may seem rude, and I'll probably have to apologize later, this was far more important and needed to be solved now.

I lounged back in my chair and put both feet on my desk in what Kycillia called my Richard Nixon pose. I then started thinking of all possible outcomes. Of course I could just flat out reject Cecilia and not even give a damn during the interview. But thinking about it, would that really be fair to her. I mean it would be extremely hypocritical as I had given fair chances to Ramba, Maharaja, and the Deikuns, all of whom were now allies of the Zabi family. If we're going by that logic then I should've easily eliminated Kycillia for being the person that killed me/Gihren in the future, yet I gave her a chance and we became real siblings over the course of time. So shouldn't I at least give the interview a shot to see what kind of person she is now and give her a decent shot. After all since she was Gihren's military liaison then that had to mean that she had to do some actual work and was capable in some ways OTL.

And then there was the matter of her being Gihren's so called canon love interest. Now that in and of itself is a whole mess of things as several different parts of the Gundam media are contradictory in this matter. In the anime she was more of a background character that was basically stated to have been involved with Gihren. In the books there was a slight abusive relationship going on Gihren's part with those two acting as confirmed lovers, in the manga Cecilia is known to be the mistress but the extent of that relationship and their feelings for each other is never explored. Overall I'm just guessing that she may have loved Gihren but he may have been mostly using her or was just physically attracted to her. Now there was no way in hell I would ever treat her like how Gihren originally used her. I'd rather kill myself right here and now then ever dare to act in that shitty and monstrous manner. Still even if I wasn't going to pursue Cecilia that didn't mean that she might not form feelings for me. After all we never received any background on who started what so she could hypothetically fall for me. In that scenario should I accept her feelings?

My love life back in my original life and here wasn't really something to be proud of. In my old life I had never really dated in high school since there wasn't anyone I was attracted to and I didn't feel that forming a relationship then would be good since we'd probably go seperate ways after graduation. At A&M I tried to go on a couple of dates and start relationships when I had the time. Most of those didn't really turn out well as the longest relationship I had ever been in was six weeks. Most of them had ended somewhat well as we would break it off mutually and there was no huge drama over the affair. But I was still sad not over losing that specific person, but the fact that those relationships never lasted long enough for me to truly care. Before I "died" there was this one classmate of mine pursuing the same history degree that I had gotten rather close to and was planning to ask out. I planned to do it on Christmas Eve, however events six days before show how that clearly failed. After I got inserted into Gihren I had actually gone on several dates surprisingly. Unfortunately they were more with daughters of political allies that Degwin wanted me to get close to, all of them really going after my family's position then myself. After all with Gihren's looks its not like I'd receive any attention if I didn't have the last name Zabi. Garma was practically the only one in the family who all the beauty genes got pored into. Even after all that though I wasn't really desperate to find someone, most certainly not Cecilia Irene. I mean for Christ's sake we could have made Glemy Toto in the future, and there's no way I'm ever siring that little shit into the world.

"Excuse me? I'm here for the 11:30 interview and... oh. I apologize Vice Minister if I interrupted your work." says an unknown but familiar voice. I snap out of my current thoughts and take my feet of the desk to return to a professional stance to confront this intruder. When I look back up my eyes widen in shock as I'm met with the sight of Cecilia, looking exactly as how she did in the anime with her red hair curled up into a comb bun at the top. Instead of wearing the Zeon uniform however she opted for a more traditional western business suit.

I quickly recompose myself and try to create an image of professionalism and power. I internally chided myself for acting in such a manner. If I was able to live with Kycillia, my sister who murdered my other self in another world, then why couldn't I make the same exception for Cecilia. Considering the fact that we're already starting the interview and it would be extremely rude and questionable to end now without reason, I decided to just roll with it for now and see where this goes. "It's alright, your right on time and it's my fault for not taking the time to notice and prepare. Why don't you take a seat and we'll start the interview now." I said. Cecilia did as I asked and pulled up a chair to sit right across while I take another comprehensive look at the file to find a place to start off.

"So, let's begin. Why would you like to work for me and would would make you most qualified over others in acting as my secretary/aide?" I asked.

And so the process began and it took a little near twenty minutes in entirety. The long time having probably been due to my requirement in extensive elaboration and slightly rough treatment due to her specifically rather than anything. Looking back I have to admit that I was quit hard on Cecilia, I had her undergo multiple questions that I didn't give some of the other candidates and probed extensively on her qualifications for the job. All of this most likely being an unconscious attempt to try and find out her true motives. Much to her credit, Cecilia never once fully wavered under the pressure. As while there were some signs of unease she was able to answer each question completely and without any critical mistakes. Going through the process and looking at her background also got me to learn more about Cecilia, or at least Origin's version of her. Apparently Cecilia was a lot smarter than I believed as she had an IQ of 158 and managed to graduate at the top of her class in high school, going to college early much like I or Gihren did years ago. She is also somewhat of a patriot as she had been a member of the SDSP for quite a while and had extensive knowledge on ongoing politics and several of my activities both as colonial secretary and vice prime minister. While it is true that she didn't have much experience for the job, and I have to wonder how the hell she even got into the list of candidates, she had extremely high qualifications and in some ways achieved more than the other candidates for the job. Also while one could fault her age in the interview, I never went there as it would be too hypocritical considering I and all my siblings got positions of power in our teens. One big example in the anime being how Garma got to lead the entirety of Earth's invasion force, all at the ripe young age of 20. Even just listening to her I somehow got a feeling that even if I had never known about her from Gundam I'd slightly be leaning towards her than the other candidates. After our time was exhausted I ended the interview with a promise to contact her later, we shook hands, and then Cecilia went out of my office to presumably go back to her house and deal with the aftermath of our interaction. Leaving me to ponder the current situation.

Thinking about all this makes me start to wonder if I should pick Cecilia. I'm already immensely biased due to the fact that she's one of the few people I've met in two years from the actual show. It might not be far to some of the others but she has plenty of credentials to back her up. Also in relation to the future knowledge is that while she might have been Gihren's mistress, she was actually involved in implementing his policies and coordinating efforts in Zeon's war machine, meaning there must have been some high degree of competency before. In the situation that I do hire her though, what then? Would there be any sort of relationship between us? Naturally I'll try my best to keep things professional as while she is actually quite attractive in person (one thing I noticed in Gihren's memories was that he had a thing for redheads) it would be wrong of me to just start an office romance immediately. Besides, I had plenty of other worries to think about besides my love life, like the future of mankind. Then again what if she developed feelings for me? During the interview she never once gave off a feeling of attraction, if she did have any then she hid them well. The problem with Gundam was that if you weren't a main character than your life story and motives were pretty poorly expanded upon, hell I think Char and Sayla are the only two people who actually had some effort put into writing their past. Even if I did know how things went between Gihren and Cecilia originally, the butterflies I have created have started to spread immensely so I was starting to lose some foresight with each passing day.

 _'Eh, fuck it. I'll give her a shot and compare her to the rest of the candidates to see if she really does stand above them. If so then I might go ahead and hire her. We'll see how things go from there. I'm a different man from Gihren. So no matter what things don't have to end up like they did before.'_ Tired from all of this turmoil over the future and present, I decided to head out to lunch after the next interview and just get my mind off things. It looks like I'll have to raincheck that meeting with Sasro and Degwin in order to get things settled. Who knows how things will turn out.

 **April 21, 0069 Cecilia Irene POV**

It's only been about ten minutes since I've gotten here but it feels like an entire hour just with endless waiting for my official appointment to begin. When I had initially done the interview last week I knew my chances were slim, there were plenty of others who probably had an immense amount of experience over me or even better credentials. While it was true that I did graduate at the top of my class from an university early exactly as Gihren did, it didn't mean anything because of the fact that my family name was not as prestigious as a Zabi. So no matter what there would barely be any hope of receiving the job. In all honesty I merely managed to land the spot in the first place out of pure luck and family ties more than anything. While my parents were not politicians or wealthy aristocrats, our family just owning a flower shop in downtown, my dad was cousins with a member of Gihren's staff, cousin Darryl. Having heard of the job opportunity for the position of his aide, Darryl managed to pull my strings and had landed a spot on the list of applicants for myself due to the fact that I had wanted to go into the government for a couple of years. While yes it's true that I would probably never even be a successful politician, procuring the rank of an MP at the bare minimum and that was if I was lucky, I wanted to do something, anything to support Side 6.

I guess it all started a few years back in early 0067, ironically it all having to do with Gihren. By that point I had already become swept in the phenomenon that was Zeon Deikun. The man was practically a savior among spacenoids, with some members of Side 3 practically worshiping the man as the literal Second Coming. While I wasn't as fanatic as some of my other peers I was still what you would call an admirer of his work. After all Zeon Deikun had managed to breathe new life into the colonies when we were previously nothing more than a bunch of poor migrants shoved into space by the Terran elite. The man had given us a purpose, a sense of identity, being proud to actually call ourselves spacenoids. Even before the start of what many called to be the Great Tech Leap of Zeon, we already held the highest living standards of the colonies (though that in of itself not being too much of an accomplishment considering the overall conditions). Zeon Deikun was a revolutionary who was taking us places, and I wanted to be part of what would soon become a grand staple in history, even if my part would be merely insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Anyways praising of Deikun aside, the moment I had become active was on April 21st of 0067, ironically being two years ago from today. My best friend Chelsea had told me in the previous weeks of how Zeon Deikun would be holding a major rally on that day and how the Social Democrats club (which I was a proud member of) managed to receive exclusive tickets on the fifth row. Excited at the prospect of meeting Zeon Deikun, I got a ticket as soon as I could and went on the trip to see our great leader in person. Unfortunately on the day of the rally, Zeon himself couldn't make it as he had contracted a heavy case of pneumonia the day before and couldn't leave bed. When receiving the news of the absentation the mood had visibly turned down among the crowd and there were shouts of refunds and jeers for the Zeon not coming, while I had not acted in that manner I was still disappointed in not getting to see Zeon. However while Zeon Deikun wouldn't be able to make it, the Colonial Secretary Gihren Zabi was present for what was supposed to be an introduction to Zeon, now he would have to take the main stage and fill up Zeon's speech. I didn't like the motion at first, nobody really knew who Gihren was back then and we all assumed that he had gained his position only out of nepotism from being Degwin's son. Still I resolved to at least hear him out so that the trip wouldn't be a whole waste. When the time finally came Gihren mustered himself up the stage with what appeared to be an air of confidence and bravado. When he started to speak we all assumed he would just be reading off the script from Deikun's speech, we were all completely wrong. Improvising the whole thing with only a few notes and his introduction to go on, Gihren went on to speak for an whole hour, and unlike what Zeon would've said he did not go on about Newtype potential or the constant needs of greater independence, rather he instead gave an impassioned speech about Side 3 itself, how we needed to take upon a mantle of leadership among the colonies and lead all of humanity, not just the citizens of Munzo, in a revolution to bring about change so that we could embrace a great golden age of expansion through the stars. There were massive talks about terrestrial colonization, technological innovation, social upbringing, how this could all be achieved but only with the efforts of the people of Side 3 and the greater spacenoids so that we could assume our great legacy as man was always meant to be. While the crowd had been expecting the standard speel of a bureaucrat, they instead got a call for action, a vision of what could be great things to come. Everyone was silent after the first minute, and when Gihren finally ended the entire audience gave a wild standing ovation. Here was a man who not only had the same charm and charisma of Deikun, but outranked him in so many different ways. Sitting there in the front of the audience and watching Gihren work his art, I came to a realization. This man, not Zeon Deikun, was someone who would lead Side 3 to greatness. He was the future of space.

In the large amount of time afterwords I shifted my attention to that of Gihren and soon came to track the activities of all the Zabi family. Seeing their rise to power I was in awe on how one man and his children could go from a simply family living at the outskirts of the colony to the practical rulers of Side 3 in such a short amount of time. To be honest this whole principality motion is more of a formality as they were already the ruling dynasty of Zeon. While most may have thought Degwin was the man who was behind his families success and that of the country, I knew for a fact that it was Gihren. He would always be the driver behind colonial policies and even areas that didn't have anything to do with his department such as the economy or military, Gihren could be found there acting as a puppet master and moving the strings of many of Zeon's corporations and political groups towards the Zabi agenda. Some people say that the Zabis are only fascists out to gain power from themselves, but with all the good that has happened why should we stop them? Zeon has practically been made in the wills of the Zabis, their power having brought us a new sense of prosperity in the colonies that not only made their homes here, but created an entirely new world that you couldn't find anything on Earth. I couldn't simply stand back and become a member of the flock as all this was happening, I needed to get involved, I needed to support Gihren Zabi.

Then comes along this once in a lifetime offer and it seemed like everything was set, that I could finally achieve my dream. Unfortunately when the actual interview happened, my hopes sank very quickly. Looking back I didn't necessarily do anything wrong and had I been applying for any other job I would have probably received it instantaneously. It's just that during the whole process Gihren was rather..tense in a manner. He seemed stressed throughout the entire thing and while he did genuinely pay attention to me, his mind always seemed to be wondering on some other important matter at the same time. He had watched me like a hawk the entire time and while I couldn't exactly prove it, there was this constant feeling that he was somewhat going hard on me with his cautious mood and how the questions seemed to drag on and go into expanded detail than normal. I didn't really know why this was the case. I never did anything to get on the bad side of the Zabi's and I wasn't some crazy stalker whenever I watched their movements. Did his sister Kycillia say something about me, and if so what and why? I went home a little depressed about the entire affair as while I was never rejected and had been promised a reply soon, it seemed like I would only be receiving the job when hell froze over. Mom and Dad did there best to cheer me up and told me how I could practically become anything I want. While it was reassuring to hear their words it still didn't make up for the fact that I had lost my only opportunity to be a part of Zeon's revolution. However, a miracle happened.

I was at home two days ago when we had received a phone call, it being a call from Gihren Zabi himself. I was shocked to say the least, thinking he might have rejected me personally, but instead he said that I had done well and asked me to head for another meeting today for entering another stage of the process. Mom and Dad both congratulated me as they said the knew I had it in myself all along. In the aftermath I couldn't believe it either, if I had done so good why was I treated with such scrutiny during the entire process. Was it a test, to see if I could withstand direct pressure from public officials? Not wanting to turn a gift away like this, I replied that I would be come back again for another meeting. Leading to my current situation in Gihren's office within the capitol. It was quite nervewracking as the seconds ticked by on the clock. I had a second chance and I could not screw it up. After a total of fifteen minutes the secretary Boris motioned towards me "Ms. Irene, Gihren will be ready to see you know."

I got up out of my chair and thanked the man, making my way to enter the office for a second time. Unlike last time Gihren was sitting in a more formal position with a straight posture at his desk. "Cecilia Irene, thank you for coming here today. Why don't you take a seat and we'll get started." I did as he asked and pulled up one of the office chairs present, sitting directly across, ready for whatever he might throw. "Look, Ms. Irene, or shall I call you Cecilia?"

"Cecilia is very fine sir." I replied.

Gihren then took a deep breath, looking up for a second with a hard thought on his face and then redirecting attention back towards me. "Look, I have to apologize for my behavior the last time you were here. I had some rather...personal issues that I was in the middle of last time and I wrongfully took it out on you during our interview. I apologize for such rude behavior and I promise not to do it again." I blinked a few times at the shock of his words. When I came here all I had expected for him to comment about last week was of my performance in a scrutinizing manner, not a direct apology from what _he_ stated to have been wrong. It was rather surprising to have such a man of power act so humble to someone lowly like me.

I then smiled back in response, trying to reassure him that it was no issue. "Don't worry about it sir. To be rather honest I thought what you did was slightly justified since the job needs someone to be of the highest calibre in order to help you in your duties. I only thought at the time that you were mainly doing what you thought was best. Oh and sir, congratulations by the way on the approval for the referendum. I'm sure your family must be very excited at the prospect of the prime minister becoming sovereign." I said, adding that last sentence as a bit of flattery to get him to be more positive in outlook towards me.

My reply seemed to have assured Gihren as he put down his shoulders in a more relaxed stance. "Thank God, that's quite a relief. It was quite difficult throughout the week as I thought I had scared you off with my attitude." I chuckled a bit light heartidly in response, it was nice enough to know that he seemed to care about my feelings on the matter. "Thanks by the way on the referendum news. We had a little party last Saturday in order to celebrate the good news. It's a rather nice reward for father after all the hard work he's done, while I certainly never entered politics with the intention to become a monarch I do hope to do the people proud and serve Zeon the best way I can. By the way you can just call me Gihren from now on. Especially since you got the job."

"Wait, WHAT?!" I exclaim in total surprise. My mouth embarrassingly hanging wide open for a few seconds as I was completely overwhelmed by the rather nonchalant news Gihren had given that I would now be working under him. I had expected to come here to be present for another stage of the interview process, not to be told in person that I had managed to overcome everyone else. Then again I should've noticed something since I was practically the only person in the waiting area when last time there had been five people in front of me when I had arrived. Sure it may be the outcome I wanted but I never expected it to be this easy, with a big part of me unconsciously expecting to not receive the position in the end no matter what.

At my rather flabbergasted response Gihren grins and chuckles a little bit in good humor before he motions me to relax. "Sorry about that rather unconventional manner of my breaking the news. I wanted us to get to business immediately and not waste any time over unnecessary pleasantries and formalities. So I can guess from your response that you'd be rather open to joining?" he asks raising his eyebrows a bit.

I gather as must focus as I can and try to return to professionalism, not wanting to start this off in any way that would undermine my character. "Of course sir, I mean Gihren. I'd love to work as your aide." I reply with some rather large excitement in my voice betraying the calm mask I was trying to portray. "Although, I do have to ask, why was I chosen out of the rest of the applicants. Surely there must have been someon more qualified?" It was rather rude to ask but I needed to know now before I could start as I couldn't just continue work with the question hanging above my head. Whatever the case was I was hopeful that it wasn't just to try to get me into his bed. I rather prided myself for my work ethic and I wanted to achieve this of my own merit, not through being Gihren's whore. Though it's not like he ever gave any indication last time that it was his purpose, he acted rather professional for the most part and never once tried to look at me in any sort of lustful manner.

Gihren seemed to be in deep thought at this, trying to come up with a response. "Well to put it simply its mainly due to the fact that you have a high number of qualifications and plenty of raw potential for the spot compared to the rest of the applicants. I remember when a few years ago I had started out as colonial secretary and many people within the government at first were distrustful of me and assumed that I only received the prestigious appointment from the fact that my father was Deikun's closest supporter. While that is true in some manner I knew that I had the talent though and that's why Deikun chose me. So I gave it my all and soon I showed those bureaucrats what for. Age and experience are only small factors that go into what a man or woman is capable of. When you left my office I knew I had someone capable of helping me in the struggle to make Zeon great, the rest of the process only affirmed that. Also I guess you could say that you remind me somewhat of my sister Kycillia, not to make any comparisons mind you, but just that you both have the same passion and zeal for serving the state."

I blushed a little bit at the high praise. It looks like I had made the right choice in serving under this man as my boss after all. "However before we get everything finalized, I'd like for there to be an understanding before we move on?" said Gihren. I was a little bit confused at this remark but it was probably just some clarifications over my role. Something that I needed as being chief to the Vice Minister would be my first job in government and I had very little experience to back up. "As you know for the past couple of years my family has been doing everything we can to uplift Zeon and propel her into greatness. While this of course is a noble goal to go forward with, there are many people who disagree and would like to see our plans stopped. We have many political rivals at home, Jimba Ral being the biggest case out of all of them. Earth and the Federation as a whole are wary of our rise, foolishly hanging onto their power as they know that our reforms will only disrupt their grasp on the colonies. There are plenty of people among the other sides who are unsure of our movement. They call us fascists, and in many ways they would be correct. However everything that I have ever done has been for the welfare of Side 3 and those of the Spacenoids in general. While my speeches may be filled with half-truths and flattery, my intent has always been to move forward and do my duty to the people. In order to accomplish this I'll have to undertake many risky and somewhat dangerous ventures. By working under me you will be forced into the more dirty side of politics, while we have never done anything that would harm the innocents, our actions will sometimes need to go undercover or outside the law in order to help the common man in its struggle. You will get to see sides of Zeon that the public will never know about, grand projects that while designed to protect the nation, are too grand in scope and far too revealing to ever go to the public. This involves a wide arrange of matters, the military being chief among them. By agreeing to work under me you are agreeing to this lifestyle. I just wanted to let you know no in preparation for later on, so that should you have any reservations you can leave now freely and no grudge will be held against you. Cecilia, will you join me in protecting Zeon, in helping to ensure the creation of a world that all Spacenoids can live in without the oppression of the Federation?" Gihren asks with a serious look in his eye.

Hearing all of this is quite astonishing to say the least. Signing up for this job I had known somewhat that I would have to go along a path similar to this. After all the Zabis couldn't have just managed to create this out of sheer good will and their hand in the legislature. After all Kycillia is head of state security herself. Still it was rather endearing that Gihren warned me of what was to come. It made me see him in a whole new light that he wasn't messing around and would expect much of me if I was to truly aid him in this grand quest. Being chosen out of the scores of candidates only made this firm and showed that he had high expectations. While I didn't know if I could meet every single one of them, I knew that I at least had to try. This was my path of duty to Zeon. "Gihren, I'd like to thank you for informing me of this beforehand. It's okay though as I knew before coming here that I would have to get my hands dirty somewhat if I wanted to enter the field of politics. No matter what happens I know that what I'll be doing is for the best. The Zabis have brought pride and progress into Zeon and I'd like to keep it that way. I accept."

Gihren smiles at my response. Glad that I had understood the dangers of what I would be putting myself into. "That's great to hear, welcome to the team. Your job will begin next Monday at 8:00 A.M sharp. Boris will guide you the ropes for the first few weeks until your qualified enough to act as my aid on your own. I look forward to having you in my staff Cecilia." He says with a hand outstretched.

"And I as well." I reply while returning the handshake. Looking back it's a blessing that I had accepted. For what would come would prove that it was the best decision of my life.

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone. But here we are the start of the Principality Arc. Here we see Zabis true rise to power and the beginning of Kaiser Gihren's rise as the Prince of Zeon. Next few chapters will be mostly about the campaign and Zeon society in general while the aftermath of the referendum will involve some POV's from around the colonies and the Federation, including Revil. Also we get to see Cecilia enter Kaiser Gihren's life and the start of their interactions. For those of you who are curious for a romance we are at that this time far from that point as Cecilia hold high respect and admiration for Gihren but doesn't hold any feelings for him, while Kaiser Gihren is unsure what to do. As for in the later years it is a definite possibility. Thank you very much for reading and following. If you have any thoughts or want to give input on future chapters then feel free to leave a review. Until next time this is Kasier Chris signing off. Sieg Zeon!**


	18. Make Zeon Great Again

**May 15th 0069  
**  
It's been nearly one month since Cecilia started working for me. And overall I have to actually say that it's turned out relatively well in all regards. At first I was very nervous about the whole ordeal since I was afraid that something similar to OTL. Sure I may not be canon Gihren and I will certainly as hell never act like him, but there's always been this sort of fear since day one of the insertion that I might slip out of my consciousness or that the real Gihren may return. I've read plenty of self-insertions in the past, both on alternatehistory and fanfiction, and most of them usually have the SI remain in control of their character whether they be from birth or at a certain point in their history. There are of course some alternatives to that with personality sharing where two minds of the character inhabit the same body and there could be the return of the fictional or historical character. Thankfully that's never been the case as of yet since while I have obtained many Gihrenisms in terms of certain mannerisms, personality traits, and casual likes, the actual presence of Gihren whether it be in his personality or soul has never once popped up. For all I know possibly rotting in hell for the genocide that he created in canon.

Then there was Cecilia herself who might've tried to start off something between us, add to that the fact that I knew so little in the beginning of what her thoughts of me were besides the fact that she admired my policies and is a fan of the Zabis. The main problem with her character being that she was hardly shown in any of the English publications besides some background appearances and the few materials that did feature her were all exclusively in Japanese and never got a US release. I've got the UC encyclopedia sure but it's mostly like the official wiki where it just has a rough outline of every person's bios and doesn't go into full details like Wikipedia. So why did I hire her in the end you might ask? Well in my mind it was sort of a test as part of my overall experiments when it comes to the UC Gundam characters specifically those from Zeon. So far I've been successfully able to turn over several characters that were enemies of the Zabis OTL into loyal supporters. There are several cases already shown such as the Deikuns, Ramba, the Karns, Doctor Mitchum, and the fact that I got Amuro fucking Ray to join Zeon. Add to that the fact that I'm getting my family to finally be functional and not go at each other's throats, its a vast turn around for the Zabis in this universe. That's not even counting the eventual butterflies sometime later on that I hope to get much of the Federation personnel to join Zeon. Of course I wasn't completely binging on that outcome, it'd be really unrealistic if I was to somehow get Revil to join Zeon as he's a Terran and I have a feeling that he'll be opposed to us merely on the principal of "Democracy" versus Fascism. In regards to Cecilia I was hoping that my accepting of her could provide her with a far better life in this continuity and helping her to meet her patriotic desires to serve the Zeon people without becoming corrupted by the system. Even if I don't get a perfect ending in 0080 and things could turn out slightly worse than canon, I'm hoping that I've at least improved the personal lives of several people.

In the days since Cecilia started working for me I've actually come to be rather glad that I had chosen to hire her. In her first week alone she had already shown much promise by executing nearly every task given to her with high performance, of particular note was her helping me in her sixth day on the job when I had to coordinate repair efforts for one of the colonies after a freak accident in the weather systems with the implementation of new hardwire meant for the regulators that had caused some freak artificial storms for a few hours until they could get the computer fixed. While it was an overall stressful time she nonetheless stuck through it and helped to manage the supervision of the various public safety departments that I had to deal with while Degwin met up with the Colonial Development Department to try and get to the bottom of what caused the whole screwup in the first place so as to prevent another such event from happening again. Her performance was so good that Boris said that he wasn't really needed after the second week so he decided to take off so he can be with his parents on Grenada. All of this was a good sign that my choice didn't need to be so emotionally selective in the first place and I should've hired Cecilia for her qualifications anyways.

Besides her job performance, Cecilia was actually a relatively nice person to have around. She was relatively knowledgeable in political science so I didn't have to explain any of my activities and she was actually able to provide some insight in certain policies from time to time. From very early on she seemed to pick up on my personality and certain habits so there were few difficulties in communication and she could understand the many actions I would take whereas Sasro and Kycillia would just shake their heads in confusion. Also she was just a pleasant person to have by always coming to work with a smile on her face and having a positive attitude throughout the day, certainly something welcoming in the affairs running a space nation and trying to eventually gain independence from a tyrannical one world government. Surprisingly we also shared many similar likes and interests, primarily in the field of botany. Now in my past life I was a strict indoors person in that while I did like to take vacations camping and would travel in the countryside now an then, in terms of actually living I liked growing up in a nice suburban house and most of my childhood activities were spent inside, much to the dismay of my parents who always went on about how they'd be outside as kids. Before I never really tried gardening and didn't really care about any variations in plants and their arrangements. As Gihren however, I had acquired his interests and fascination with gardening along with his large obsession with Japanese culture and art (before you could describe me as a casual Otaku but with Gihren I've embarrassingly turned into a full-blown Weab). For the past two years I had tenderly cared to the large greenhouse within our family mansion with myself adding some Texan flavor with the appearance of bluebonnets and a few oak trees in the mix. Cecilia herself had a family who ran a flower shop and as such she also had a passion for plants and had brought some from her parent's place as a way to decorate the office a little bit, in that while I had a few as Colonial Secretary I didn't really bother to decorate since I became Vice Minister. It was a nice topic of conversation among several other things and from the outside you would think of us to be two casual coworkers rather than a boss-employee relationship.

So overall it was a nice outcome and I had become very grateful that I had made the right choice. Will something come out of this later on? Who knows. For now I'm rather content with the way things are going and I'll see where everything goes from there. It was also rather nice that I didn't receive any personal drama lately as I, along with the rest of the family, have been very busy recently with what is soon to be the most important achievement in our lives, the monarchy referendum.

Now from the outside it would seem that victory was all but secure, and in many respects it was. However, just because we were currently the most popular family in Side 3 and the fact that it didn't happen in the anime, it didn't mean that I would just sit by and take any chances. When it came to life philosophy I was a firm believer of the application Murphy's Law to the world. After all no person would rationally think that someone like me would get inserted into the world of an anime after death. With Murphy's Law it was possible and here I am. Besides one need only to look at the two major "controversial" elections before I died where no one thought Donald Trump would become President or that the United Kingdom would chose Brexit, and look at how much the leftist voters flipped their shit in the aftermath. Not to necessarily take a side here, just proving the point that anything could happen on election night. Of course I could just order Kycillia to rig the vote to make sure that the people chose Yes for the monarchy referendum, but really that'd be cheating and it would kind of show how little faith and support we'd get from the people if we can't at least win this. Though if that ever did happen I hope Kycillia wouldn't be stupid enough to make it so unrealistic with a 90+% support for yes like Napoleon and his sham referendums.

Now I know what some of you may be thinking right now, "But wait Kaiser Gihren, why make a fascist monarchy if you still have the power to do stuff as a Democratic Republic?", and overall that's actually a pretty good question as I still have done some amazing things inside the system as both Colonial Secretary and Vice Minister. The answer to that simply is that I don't want some random schmuck to come in and ruin everything I have worked for just because he/she got the popular vote. In order to make sure that my policies for Zeon and the greater Earth sphere last for generations, I need the Zabi family to stay in power to implement those ideals and preserve them for decades or centuries no matter what happens in the changing times. Not to mention the fact that the "democracy" the Federation has turned into a joke over the last half of the Universal Century with its huge amount of corruption and control by the bureaucracy and elitist political groups on Earth. The main reason for that being that in a situation where a democratic state has no opposing force or external stimuli to influence it, it will soon turn against itself and become plagued with stagnation and decadence. This was already seen back in OTL as the United States politics had descended into a shitstorm of partisan politics that divided the nation immensely on two sides and caused much chaos and unrest for the public during heated political disputes. This was something that was true no matter what administration or political party held the power and was all thanks to the fact that the big bad Soviet Union that had once united both sides of the aisle to pass legislation in the face of a common foe, was gone. With the rise of terrorism there is no clear singular enemy that you can point to and as such nothing to unite the American people or politicians behind unless a catastrophic event like 9/11 happened. Even then both sides would just descend into petty bickering following a short amount of time, nothing ever changing and stagnation further occurring. So while there may be several other cases or specific universes where I could stick to the path of Democracy, here in Gundam I needed to create the principality to assure the completion of my goals, at least until the end of the One Year War that is. Both before and afterwords I'll try and do my best to protect the people's basic rights in the meantime while still having parliament exist in the form of Prussian Constitutionalism. If I did somehow tragically die for a second time beforehand, then I already wrote an extensive letter to Garma to be opened up alongside my will to carry on the fight and make sure that a constitutional monarchy is accomplished by the end of the day. For if anyone can do it then Garma could.

Rants on political systems aside, let's start talking about the referendum campaign. Every single day for the past twenty-four days along, Sasro has been working nonstop to get the actual campaign up and running so that we could have enough time to work with to convince a majority of Zeon's population to vote for us. After all this was no small task in and of itself since nearly 1.6 billion people would be coming to the polls in October if we had a near perfect turnout, meaning we'd have to convince over 800 million people to vote for us, a far greater task than any United States presidential election and with only less than six months to do it all. Because of it Sasro hasn't been seen much around the house since the announcement as he's had to work nearly 24/7 to try and coordinate efforts to get campaign ads up and running, organize events across Side 3, met up with representatives from the other Sides and Earth, having to keep an eye on the press to get us good coverage, etc. The worst part about it was the fact that he couldn't have done much beforehand in order to maintain the cover that this was a rather spontaneous movement where the Zabis had no part in its creation. Though the fact that campaign ads and posters started appearing only around the end of April means that he had been coming up with plans beforehand. From Gihren's memories I can remember that as early as 0065 Degwin and the rest of us were making contingency plans for how exactly we could control Zeon, though the actual plans for a Principality of sorts did not begin until last year. Thankfully the one good thing that we had on our side was the fact that the referendum was rather suprised, so with so little time to prepare there was hardly any organization or clear direction for the opposition to form a movement against us. Thanks to our extremely high popularity there were also few official politicians and people of power who were in the opposition anyways, its composition being made up of a collection of businessman, politicians, and activists who had little in common besides the fact that they don't like us anyways.

The official stance of the Zabis so far is that we had no part in the creation of this referendum and that it's merely the result of our high popular from our government policies that large groups of people had started the call for a Zabi monarchy. From various news reports on Earth and the other sides I knew that this wasn't fooling everyone with many saying that we must have been behind this all along. _'To which they are right.'_ However one good argument against that is the effectiveness of the Zabi administration already in that we've done so much in half a year than the Deikun Era during the 0060's. With many of the accomplishments during his reign either going to myself or Degwin in that regard. So naturally if the people did want these achievements to continue then it's more than likely that a select group would want to support such a thing. Say what you want but at least I'm doing a referendum to make it all offficial and the like. I'm pretty sure that in Canon UC that Degwin just proclaimed himself Sovereign one day and no one on Side 3 questioned it as Deikun's followers had already been purged at that point. It sort of makes me wonder why the Federation didn't chose to intervene there, or here for that matter. While we do have the Monarch Clauses in the Federal Articles, I'm sure that Marcenas and his cronies could find some way to go against the vote and call it illegal. Kycillia had shared her thoughts on the matter in that she said that Jorge may be trying to use us as some sort of scapegoat to rally the colonies behind or that he potentially believes that the Zabi dynasty would collapse on its own as the people would never willingly accept a dictatorship and would rise up in the name of democracy. I agreed in both respects as there has been talks of the creation of sanctions in Lhasa though I still found it to be a bit lacking on Marcenas' part in order to assure his families continued rule. Then again this is the Federation we're talking about. The same idiots who agreed to sell Char Axis in "Char's Counterattack" when the man had been dropping meteors and colonies onto the Earth only _DAYS_ beforehand. Honestly looking back I got to wonder how we ever lost to that mess anyhow.

As for my role in all this, well in our family we would each take upon certain jobs during the campaign in order to see it as a success. Sasro would be the head of it all as he managed the campaign, publicity, and actions of the party during said time. Degwin would become the face upon which we would rally our efforts behind as he was the man who this vote was all about. Kycillia would work in the shadows to prevent foul play (rather ironic I know) and keep any Federation agents away while she subtly influenced the public towards us. Garma didn't really have an official role in all this but as the kid Zabi his part was to stay out of trouble and smile for the camera by appearing at certain events to humanize the Zabis. Dozle was actually the lucky one in all this as he could just keep on doing his current job at Grenada and everyone would admire him for his active military duty and patriotism. As for myself? Well if we were to compare this to an American presidential campaign then I would be sort of the Vice President on the ticket. After all if the Zabi dynasty does follow conventional monarchistic laws then I will be the heir to the Principality which means I had to prove to the people that this could work and I could one day inherit leadership. As such I needed to have a heavy presence in the campaign, which would've already happened as Sasro pointed out earlier that I was the one in the family with the heaviest charisma and public speaking skills. So whenever I had free time of my duties then I would need to direct all my energies to heading out to the people and trying to draw in their votes. So since the end of April I've had to increasingly delegate tasks towards our allies in parliament and take more time away from continuous military, economic, and technological developments. Thankfully we've gotten to the point where most of my advancements don't need an immediate implementation and Zeon has got plenty of skilled people in both the private sector and the government that I could rely on them to continue our agenda with just a little bit of nudging and minor supervision now and again.

Today of all days was a very important one as it was officially my very first time speaking for a Zabi Rally. Now over the course of the past two years I've grown into a fine public speaker and have been sent to several similar public events under both Deikun and Degwin, though this would be my first one for the referendum and all of Side 3 would most likely be watching and analyzing to see what the Zabis were exactly made of. It kind of felt weird however that I was esentially trying to get the people to vote for me becoming a prince in addition to the already high list of achievements and current success as a Zabi. Though from the energy and excitement of the crowd outside I can tell that we're already going to receive hundreds of millions of votes no matter what the outcome. Our location for the rally was not Munzo but was instead the colony of Bietaur in Side 3, an manufacturing colony that has undergone much growth and investment in the past two years thanks to the tech advances, meaning that the people here already loved us. A part of me wishes that I could just swoop in a shuttle for dramatic effect and have the people be watching from the sidelines, cheering on as I make my way down the ramp. Unfortunately space travel was a very serious business in the Universal Century and it would be very scandalous if I decided to hold a rally within a hangar. The arena that they chose for the event is nice though so it's a good setting to kickstart the campaign.

Right now I was backstage with Cecilia going over notes and final prepwork before the beginning of the speech. An estimated 500 million people would be watching this and I was doing a livestream on my YouTube channel, so I really didn't want to pull a Nixon and somehow mess up this television appearance. "Remember during the speech to use heavy uses of Populist messages and keep on stressing about how the people are going to want this and how the Zabi family are the ones serving them, not the other way around. If you decide to go on the attack against Earth then feel free to do so but keep it to a minimum and not the main focus of your presentation. We don't want Lhasa trying to spin this as a move for independence just yet or finding an excuse to intervene. It's all about improving the lives of the people and sticking to high autonomy, not going against the status quo." Reminds Cecilia who is going over her tablet to try and check the coverage while helping me go over the contents of the speech.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Stress how it would be better to keep us in charge as we are the ones who have done all the progress in the past two years. I should be relatively fine since this is our highest pro-Zabi colony outside of Zum City so it's more than likely the crowd will eat up whatever I say so long as I don't make any gaffes or say something completely stupid." I respond.

"I would just act how you normally are during these kinds of events and not try to focus too much on what's going on. Your brother's booked around 40 seperate events for you to attend already so there's no need to try and make this a special occasion. Also remember to try and stick off script as much as possible and make as little eye contact with the teleprompter as necessary. People love a politician who doesn't look like he's reading off a speech written by someone else and is speaking directly to them."

"Don't need to worry about that. I am a master in the art of improv after all. For all the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players;they have their exits and their entrances;and one man in his time plays many parts."

"Did you seriously just quote Shakespeare on me Gihren?" asks Cecilia with an eyebrow raised at me.

"Well it is not a widely known fact but I have a great amount of expertise in the art of the theater." This wasn't really true of Gihren but rather part of my past life, which has helped in my natural speaking abilities. "Besides these people would be idiots to vote No in October, after all I'm making them an offer they can't refuse."

"Enough with the antique references already before you start to go all nerdy on me again."

"What? I'm just a dedicated public servant who is fighting for the will of Zeon. After all the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." I say quoting Spock with Cecilia rolling her eyes in false annoyance while I merely chuckled a little. It was nice to make smalltalk like this, certainly helped to get rid of the tension that I was about to receive.

"Before you start quoting Lord of the Rings you should head out now as we only got two minutes left." Cecilia says with the clock at 10:58. I gather my notes and then make my way to the door. "Good luck Gihren, break a leg!"

"Cecilia how Scandalous! You want your boss to receive an injury on the job? If you think that's going to get you some free time off then think again." I jest with Cecilia forming a smile in response. "Thanks anyways, be sure to watch every second of it." After that I headed out, being flanked by secret service members as I made my way to the podium.

As I got closer to the stage the noise of the crowd got increasingly louder with each step. When I made my presence shown onstage and the music started playing the crowds started going wild with large continuous shouts of "Zabi! Zabi!". Various flags of the Republic and other items being held high to show patriotism. It was kind of disturbing to see how easy it was to draw the people in support of the legal implementation of a fascist government. In the end it looks like Tomino was on point with his Nazi Germany parallels. To be fair however when your choice is us or the Federation there isn't really much of a conflict in the matter, at least for the people of Side 3.

I walk up to the stage and after a few minutes the applause dies down and I begin my speech. "Good Morning Bieutar! Before we begin the speech today I would like to say that it's such an honor to be here today, standing among the finest men and women that Zeon has to offer in the manufacturing sector. For you people are the reason that we are currently experiencing the greatest economic growth rate in the history of mankind. It's all thanks to you that we are able to outperform against Earth, Luna, and the rest of the colonies in terms of production output for the last three quarters. For while it took great scientific minds in order to create the new tech advances you see before us that have launched us into the Universal Century, it is you, the people, who is responsible for putting such amazing tech into action to improve the overall benefit of Zeon. On Bieatur alone millions of people have gained jobs over the past year as the fine Spacenoids of this colony have taken a firm leadership in the creation of Zeon's new interplanetary economy. The situation has gotten so well that we're actually on a shortage of jobs for many companies and have to import people from the other sides in order to fill the quotas. I may be a mere politician that has the job of running the great nation of Zeon, but none of it matters as all of our achievements lie not solely within the bureaucrats and MP's of Munzo City, but in you people who are truly fulfilling the dream of Zeon Deikun.

Today I come before you to make a humble request. To ask of the citizens of Zeon to in five months, elect my father as the new Sovereign of the Principality of Zeon. Naturally in the aftermath of this great and spontaneous movement that has taken Zeon by storm, some of you may be wondering just why this all is taking place. Why you should chose my family to be the rulers of Zeon and to lead our great people to the Newtype ideal. There are many fears present of the rise of a tyrannical system, that we are in it solely for ourselves in a quest for power over the colonies of Side 3. I am here today to assure you that those fears are false as my father, the great Degwin Zabi, is not in it for any sort of personal gain. Rather he would humbly accept the position in order to assure that the dream of his great friend and my mentor, our fallen hero Zeon Zum Deikun, lives on for the next generation so that your children may learn of the greatness of our founder and see that his dream of a prosperous society for Spacenoids and Newtypes may live on for the many years of the Universal Century to come.

So why should you vote yes for Degwin Zabi? You see, for many years my father has been a dedicated public servant and a man of the people who has sought nothing less than the welfare of others. Before he joined politics, my father was nothing but a simple portsman who acted as a leader for the Labor Union for our great portworkers at the Munzo Spaceport. Even at that early stage he was a compassionate man who sought that his friends and coworkers would receive good pay and benefits for their hard labor, that their role as a lifeline of the colonies would be recognized for the true importance that it holds in the creation of the Sides, to earn the respect and pay they deserve so as to provide a good life for their families in the cold vacuum of space. When Zeon Deikun watched this, he saw a man with great potential. Someone who could help him spread the Newtype vision to the colonies and help to establish the Social Democrats in their infancy so that the Spacenoids could finally have a voice in government that would support them, not the other way around. I remember standing besides my father and late mother as he gave his acceptance speech for being elected into parliament. How proud he was in that he could finally be in a position where he could bring true change for the people of Zeon.

Over the years sine then, Degwin Zabi has become a force for change for Side 3. So many laws and policies can be attributed to his name. The Social Security Reform of 0061, the creation of our Defense Force, new housing for the impoverished citizens of Side 3, the Interplanetary Commerce Regulation Act, and much more. While others in position of high office seek to abuse their mandate given to them by the people, Degwin Zabi has never once stopped in his quest to better the lives of the people of Zeon. For no matter who you are, no matter what race, ethnicity, religion, or cred that defines you; we are all spacenoids and we are all sons and daughters of Zeon. As such it is our sacred duty to look out for one another and work towards the prosperity of society as a whole so that we can build new lives in the colonies. For while our ancestors were forced from Earth in order to satisfy the over-exaggerated dangers of overpopulation, they chose to instead turn from their sorrows and mark their unfortunate forceful emigration as the start of a new life, one for brand new opportunities among the stars that were never before possible on Earth. As one of the first generation Spacenoids immigrants in Side 3, my father experienced this firsthand and knew that if he were to ever create a better life for his children, to fulfill the Spacenoid dream that unites the Sides, that he would need to take direct action in order to make that dream a reality. For it is only by action that we may achieve our desires and discover more than we can possibly imagine. In many respects this drive is nothing more than a basic outline of the Newtype ideal set forth by Zeon Deikun. That by moving to space and creating new lives for ourselves among the stars, our latent abilities will blossom and mankind can better understand each other. I'd say that one needs to look no further than the work of the Flanagan Institute and the vast progressive reforms of the Zabi administration to look at how that theory is turning into reality.

While a great many things can be said about Degwin Zabi, the same can be said for my brothers and sister who also serve the state, and by extension the people in the greatest way they can. My brother Dozle is a proud member of the Zeon Space Force, defending our citizens from any threats that may seek to tear down the lives of Zeon citizens. Already he has achieved a high list of accomplishments that make himself to be an exemplary officer by the leaders of Zeon. One need to only remember that it was my brother Dozle, who lead the charge in the Jimbajacking to take our capitol back from the terrorists who sought to ruin it and install fear into the hearts of Zeon. My dear sister Kycillia has also achieved much in her station as Director of State Security for Zeon, for while she may have come in at a young age, she proved herself to be more than qualified than anyone else to see to the safety of Zeon within. All that's needed to see the results is to take a look at our crime rates, the lowest they've ever been not only among Zeon, but along the rest of the colonies as well. While we may have suffered isolated incidents of terror, each such case was dealt with swift brutality that made sure the victims achieved the justice they desired. As a citizen of Zeon you can walk within the city at night and can leave your kids running among the city without a fear of potential crime for taking their lives. For it is only when we can start living without the constant fear of society that one can truly become alive at all. My eldest brother Sasro has also become a dedicated public servant in the mirror image of our father. Helping to lead the charge of reform and uniting our MP's to pass the laws that need to be formed in order to benefit the people of Zeon in most need. Lastly, I have also taken the time to serve the people of Zeon first and foremost. During my time as Secretary of Colonial Development, Side 3 has experienced a tremendous rate of growth that has launched our living standards to be not only the highest of the colonies, but that of the entire Earth sphere. Working together with the brilliant men and women who lead the private sector, I have made it my mission to ensure that the people of Zeon experience the benefits of the Great Tech Leap first so that way the technological stagnation that has plagued humanity for the last century may not longer continue and we may truly launch ourselves into the Universal Century. Efforts have been undertaken to colonize Mars extensively and in the next decade we may see the beginning construction of the next great cities. Most importantly, during my time as Vice Minister, I have made it my foremost task to see that the reforms of the Zabi administration be put into play instead of falling on deaf ears. This has caused the passing of so many great laws that the government has done more for Zeon in the last six months than in the past three decades of our existence. How can anyone look at this results and claim that the Zabis are not true public servants of the people?

However despite the immense amount of progress we've made these past couple of years, it is not enough if we are to move forward. For in order to create a lasting and prosperous nation among the stars, one needs to create a system that will ensure that these reforms and sacred rights are protected from the powers within that seek to eliminate them for the advancement of personal agenda. I love democracy, for it is a truly good system in its creation that can let the people decide for themselves and take the power unto them to assure that their needs and wishes are fulfilled. Yet so often this great right of choice is abused by certain individuals within the same system who claim to work for the people. For when democracy goes unchecked and unregulated, the elite of the state begin to consolidate power unto themselves and start to ignore the needs of the people. Passing false laws that in appearance look to benefit the people but only empower themselves. Sadly there are many examples of this in human history, chief among them being the nation of France, a country where the reforms of the Revolution and the Napoleonic Era ended the Fedual times that plagued Europe so. Yet despite being a hearth of modern democracy, those same ideals that the French have fought for eventually turn against them. Six times has the Republic fallen only to rise up again, SIX. Each time was a case where a tyrant was able to take power from within by appeasing to those in power and launching a coup of the state that in the end would only harm the people. Then after the end of such government, the process began again only for a repition of said consolidation of power by the elite who would swear that they are different from the previous demagogues. Until eventually there is little left for the people to fight for as all their rights are in control of the government. After the Third World War it was a grand hope that Russia and China would now enter the nations of the world as true representatives of freedom and democracy. Yet while Communism was no more, a new type of Oligarchy had arisen where a ruling junta of the military and mafia, and the rise of corporate interests respectively, would take charge and begin to take away the same democratic freedoms that were fought for, leaving the people dry in their hopes. Even the United Stats of America is not exempt from this, for while they were a leader in democracy worldwide, the country soon fell into intense partisan bickering that would plague it for several decades until it became one grand power struggle of lobbyists, corporations, party members, and corrupt bureacrats for control. The people watching hopelessly on the sidelines.

Sadly those same problems of the Anno Domini Era have continued to plague the Universal Century. Over time the Earth Federation, the so called pinnacle of Democracy and Representative Government, had begun to look inwards to itself and create a state where the colonies serve Earth and the elitist Terrans on the planet first rather than the other way around. Sure we may have increase amounts of autonomy such as the Republic of Zeon, yet I ask you should it not be the Federation who should be looking out for the welfare of Spacenoids first as stated in the Federal Articles? Sure there are many claims of representation as even Zeon has its own members of the Federal Parliament. Yet how can these MP's fairly represent the 9 billion Spacenoids of the Colonies if they are but a small fraction in a system designed to support only those in power and the privileged few who received the "honor" of being left behind. The Marcenas family is a clear example of this hypocrisy as they criticize this movement that you are taking apart of, yet they do the same thing back on Earth but far worse. Whereas the Zabi family has only made it their goals to benefit the welfare of the people of Zeon by acting in positions of power that can bring about this change most immediately and directly, the Marcenas' put on smoke and mirrors in order to put on the false image of public servants, when in reality they are only strengthening their own position. When was the last time that a non-Marcenas was in control of the Federation? How many reforms that would benefit the colonies directly have been squashed under their beck and call. Why is it that the Marcenas and the Federation who pride themselves as champions of the people, have overseen the worse era of social and technological stagnation in human history since the Middle Ages of Anno Domini?!

Even in Zeon has this sadly been present. Chief among them being the actions of Jimba Ral and his cronies who last year sought to commit a terrible coup against my father solely on wild delusions and the fact that they had lost their strength in parliament when that is simply what democracy is all about. With all of these factors present, it is clear that democracy while a viable form of government that should be preserved, needs checks and balances in order to keep it functioning and from eventually being turned into an oligarchy that gives its way to the social empowerment of the elite. By electing Degwin Zabi and by extension the Zabi family as a whole as the leaders of Zeon, you are ensuring that said check is put into place by creating a system where true public servants who have proven themselves time and time again to put the people first, shall be the ones who will meet the needs of the people and serve you directly.

In short my fellow citizens, I make of you this final request, that in five months from now you may head to the polls and truly change Zeon for the better. For on that ballot will be two choices. One where the status quo is preserved yet will eventually fall into ruin within passing time, or one where not only will you see your welfare and prosperity preserved, but taken to new heights under the great changes to come. My fellow Spacenoids, we are truly at an important point in history. For we are within an era where Humanity can finally achieve the dream of an everlasting prosperous society that it so richly deserves after the struggles we have undergone in the past centuries. In that the solution lies in space and the development of the Newtype potential. For it is our God-given right to expand across the stars and see this dream come through. The first challenges have already been overcome and the path started. It is time to turn those baby steps into giant leaps and achieve greatness never before possible. Join me, as the Zabis become the leaders of this journey in the fulfillment of the Newtype dream. For a better tomorrow, a time and place where anything is possible and all challenges will be overcome. A time where we can truly see the legacy of Zeon Deikun be achieved and for Zeon to rise above all else as the place where the future of humanity is born! Vote Zabi! Vote for the future! Sieg Zeon!"

"Sieg Zeon! Sieg Zeon!" shouts back the crowd. Looking on them I can't help but feel proud of the fact that this is possible. That the dream for a better tomorrow may actually come after all. _'Today Zeon, tomorrow the world.'_

 **A/N: Hello everyone, sorry for the delay but here we have Chapter 18 and the beginning of the Principality Arc. As a special little treat to makeup the delay in time, I'm going to do something special for the update next week. You, the readers of Gihren's Glory will get to become a part of the story! You see the next update (SPOILERS) will be one were Kaiser Gihren goes on a podcast talkshow in order to support the campaign. The reasoning behind this in the story is to act as a sort of insight for the readers and the populace in Zeon of the Zabi ideology and policies TTL, specifically that of Kaiser Gihren and what and the Zabis would do after the creation of said Principality. What the you and some of the readers on Alternatehistory will be doing is submitting questions that will be used in-story to Kaiser Gihren. They can be of any topic you want but have to be reasonable and pertain somewhat to what's going on in Zeon. Feel free to be creative and put yourselves in the shoes of a concerned Zeon citizen. In order not to overflow the reviews with questions, please add any and all questions to your review of the chapter or PM me with your question. In the chapter I'll also have your respective Fanfiction usernames be used as a cameo of sorts. This will be going on until Friday at the earliest as next weekend is when I'll begin writing for Chapter 19. By the way please leave a review below on whether or not my Gihren speeches are something that could be seen as something that he would say with the same level of quality? Thank you for reading and as stay tuned for the next chapter of Gihren's Glory. Sieg Zeon!**


	19. Late Night with Gihren Zabi

**July 5th 0069**

It's been officially two months since the campaign for the Principality started and overall I'd say we've been doing pretty well. It's been a rather tiresome affair for me as I had to constantly be present at multiple campaign events in order to give grand speeches of the wonderful Zabi family and how we would serve the people. However all that is paying off as we are still maintaining relatively high polls throughout and the people of Zeon continue to love us just as much as before. So far the opposition hasn't been able to muster up a clear fight as they are few in numbers with a wide range of different ideologies and backgrounds to effectively unite around. At to that the fact that there seemed to be an intense amount of backlash to the anti-Zabi movement as whenever an anti-Zabi person would make an appearance on a political segment of a news show, the other members would often gang up on them and support either Degwin or myself by showering us with high praise. Interestingly the rise of the internet has actually become a good tool for the organization of the opposition as they can freely assemble online and post videos on different websites and YouTube channels free of harassment where they can organize their following. Still, despite all the efforts it's not amounting to much as it looks like we could win with a large landslide if we can continue at the current rate. All of this could have been averted if the opposition had either the Rals or maybe the Deikuns stand in for leadership of the movement. However Jimba Ral's actions have basically discredited any former Ral supporters and Astraia has gone official in stating that she doesn't want the kids to become involved by taking sides however she wishes us the best. The fact that our families come together rather frequently and that Garma and Casval are actively seen together as best friends however has led the media to paint it as though we have the Deikuns endorsement. Therefore meaning we had the endorsement of Zeon Deikun.

In regards to my personal life everything has been okay as so far there haven't been any major conflicts nor any random Gundam characters popping into the fray. Degwin has been rather busy handling most of the affairs of state while I continue to act as poster boy, but he's doing relatively well at it which adds to his image of a capable ruler if he were to become Sovereign. Another piece of good news is that his weight programs have been finally showing some results in that he now weighs less than 300 pounds (or 136 Kilos, fucking Metric system) and has been needing less medication with each visit to the doctor's. While he may not ever achieve an Olympic build like Dozle, it's nice to see Degwin getting into shape so that he can avoid all the health problems he would have down the line. While it would be nice to receive the crown early, that didn't mean I wanted my second father to die as he was a relatively decent parent to all of us. Plus it would mean he'd have more time to spend with Mineva and any other potential Zabis that may come. Sasro has seemed to take it easy lately as the relatively strong performance of the campaign means he doesn't have to micromanage the thing 24/7 and can go back to working the party. Dozle is doing a decent job with the pilots at Granada and should everything continued as planned then we could see training on the Zaku-I's begin before the end of the year. It's summer right now so that means that Garma can relax now that he's out of school. Unfortunately for my youngest brother though he's starting to get at the age where girls are noticing him for his looks. Meaning that in addition to being a Zabi, Garma now has fangirls chasing him wherever he goes like Sasuke Uchiha in the beginning of Naruto. _'And it's only going to get worse when your older kid.'_

In terms of what's been going on with Kycillia, there's been some rather interesting developments on her end. Not that she's enacting any grand schemes or anything, or at least not to _us_. It's just that she's increasingly had her hands full with Intelligence as it seems that Jamitov is on the move. It's been rather frustrating for my sister overall as she can't find anything on what exactly the future leader of the Titans has been planning other than the fact that he's been involved in several projects ranging from land development in Eurasia, Newtype hunts, and the Federation's rearmament plans. While I have been able to eliminate much of the Titans membership over time, Jamitov has been the one man who I cant seem to get my hands on. We've tried setting up assassination attempts on the guy however either the plans fail to come to fruition or his agents seem to foil him. In addition the fact that he was always on Earth meant that we had very few chances to reach him just as he to us on Side 3. It was like an endless game of cat and mouse, except no one knew what the hell was going on half the time. While the Federation was full of idiots and dumbasses, this guy was the most fucking dangerous of them all. OTL he was able to usurp virtual control of the Federation government in just four short years and if it wasn't for the AEUG's plot armor and OP Gundams then this guy would've easily taken over the Earth sphere. The only thing that really prevented this guy from launching a full coup right here and now was the fact that the Marcenas family had the bureaucrats and politicians firmly entrenched while Revil and his peers had control of the military. While we've been lucky enough to rid Side 3 of Federal influence, the other sides and Earth were an entirely different story as it was an ongoing game of cloaks and daggers, with everything pointing back to Jamitov. While I do trust Kycillia to handle things for the most part, I'm afraid that greater measures will have to be taken if this continues. Even if we somehow manage to win the war, a still alive Jamitov can ruin the peace entirely by creating the Titans as an analogue to Neo-Zeon. For now I just had to pray that everything would turn out alright and Zeon could for now continue its development unhindered.

Since the initial start of the campaign was going relatively smooth, it meant that we were in sort of a chill period for the course. Unless some potentially damaging scandal or an existential crisis showed up, then for the next six weeks or so we could take things a little bit easier. This meant I could start making less campaign appearances at events and at the same time start to make some more informal events. Today being a good case. For today I would be appearing on a political podcast to essentially appear on a Q&A session with the people of Zeon.

The show I was going to appear on, Spacechat, was one of several fast growing online shows that had emerged in the past two years with the creation of the internet for Zeon. Spacechat being mostly a talkshow of sorts that discussed all sorts of events of the day and the ongoing affairs of the Earth sphere. While with Sasro I could easily book a spot on one of Zeon's major news networks and say whatever the hell I wanted, I felt it would be better to say it on a more independent source so that way it could be seen as a humble attempt to get to the people as well as trying to prevent the appearance of the media in Zeon being a state-controlled puppet of the Zabi's (which it was). Sasro didn't like it one bit but he relented on the point that I didn't screw up or embarrass the family in any way.

Most importantly I saw this, along with any potential town halls in the future, as a good way to not only spread the Zabi message, but my personal ideology as well. Back in canon Gundam the Zabis could be described as sort of enlightened despots who had total control of Zeon in order to lead it for the better. As for their respective ideology, that was something that could never be agreed upon. Over time it seemed that Degwin started to care less and less about running the state to the point that he just gave up and let Gihren rule in all but name. Garma seemed to be more of a conciliator between Earth and the colonies, but his goals were never much besides just peace and development. Kycillia wanted to gain power for her own benefit and rule. And Dozle, he was fine with whoever ruled so long as he got to shoot things in a Zaku. Of course you also have canon Gihren who is literally space Hitler with his Spacenonid master race speel. Because of all these clashing personalities in power, the Neo-Zeon movements were never able to stay united and fractured over time into the disastrous groups which they eventually turned out. It's also why you had crazy nutjobs like Char able to come in and take over with his Neo-Contolist bullshit because of the fact that with Char, you at least got a sense of what he was about and what his goals were. With the Zabi's? World domination and that's it.

Since I was inserted its been my goal to change all of that and hopefully create a new method of rule that can overcome both extreme faults of Contolism and Total Democracy which Deikun and the Federation both spouted respectively. To that end we would create Spacenoid Populism, a movement which would empower the Spacenoids for independence and give them a focused mission to build a new life among the stars and expand out to seek new opportunities while continually fueling innovation and achievement. Giving them the tools that they needed to survive and prosper while preventing the repeated rise of stagnation. If you were to compare this to real terms then I guess you could call it a heavy dose of Nationalism and 19th century Populist Progressivism. It was actually kind of ironic in my opinion as before in my old life I was a Conservative Republican who would've been repulsed by such ideals. I guess a different environment can offer a new perspective of things. Especially if said environment is a giant metal box in space.

Politics aside, at the moment in my office at the capitol with recording equipment and camerawork set up for the podcast, Cecilia handing some of the behind the scenes work in preparation for the show. Thankfully since we've adapted to "modern" tech for the most part, it meant that I didn't have to be present for the interview and could just freely speak my mind. Though I still had to look professional as camera footage of my actions were going on my YouTube channel in the aftermath.

Cecilia motions to me that I'm about to go on air so I sit up straight and fix my hair a little bit. I put on the headphones and lean closer to the microphone as the feed on my computer monitor turns on, signaling that we just started recording. The show's host, Daniel Connors, begins after a few second of brief pause to show what is presumably the show's intro. "What, is, up Spacechat nation! I'm your host, Dan Connors; Leeet's get riiiigggghhhtt into the news!" _'Oh God, why does that so sound so close to a certain asshole I know from back then?'_ "Today Spacechat fans we have a special guest with us today as Gihren Zabi, yes the Vice Minister and the man who's trying to get you to make his daddy the King, shall be joining us today for a special Q&A session. That's right, you the fans, will be able to ask the prodigal son here any type of question you want. Ranging from Zabi policies, colonial affairs, what he likes to have for lunch on Tuesdays, etc. All questions shall be posted live on the chat and a select few of you will be able to have your questions presented here, live on Spacechat. Before we begin I'd like to ask how your doing today Gihren? Any thoughts on the show?"

"Glad to be here Dan. As a politician I'm glad to see up and coming independent journalists such as yourself able to do well against many of the news giants. It's always nice to see different opinions on matters besides the same generic two sided arguments that we receive on TV every day. I just hope that on the show we'll be able to answer some of the hard questions that the people have been wanting to hear answered, and that we can avoid some of the more...weird topics.

"No need to worry about that sir as all the questions we receive here will go under a strict filter before being presented. Don't think I'll go easy though, as today on Spacechat we'll be asking some of the tough questions in the quest to see just why we should chose the Zabis as the ruling dynasty of Zeon. No offense but have you seen what the Windsors did to England? Don't exactly want George VI any time soon. Anyways our first question will be going to longtime Spacechat fan by the username of Dethklok. Dethklok asks, 'Mr Zabi, what are your thoughts towards cooperation with the other Sides, economically and in helping raise their living and productive/industrial standards to a level approaching Zeon's?' A great question to start off if I do say so myself as we have been discussing in earlier podcasts of the recent rise in tensions between Zeon and some of the other sides. With Side 1 Prime Minister Julia Wallace having stated yesterday that Zeon is seeking to wipe out the other colonies in a trade war. Gihren, your thoughts?"

 _'This is a good start. It's time to lay down some of the worries of Zeon conquest and hopefully raise our popularity among the sides.'_ "Well Dan, its practically an open secret that relations with some of the other sides aren't really the best at the current moment, particularly with Lagrange 5. However this is more due to the current economic disparity between us and the rest of the colonies rather than any sort of outright aggression that many Terrans like to pin on Zeon in their propaganda. While Zeon has been undergoing a huge economic boom with the new technologies that our brightest minds have come up with, this at the same time has of course caused a trade imbalance for the other sides as more people from across the Earth sphere are buying solely from Zeon everyday. I'm not going to lie in that this has been in due part to the Zabi protectionist policies that we have put in place to support the industry and encourage growth in the private sector. However, this was done mainly to benefit the people of Zeon first as is required of our job as leaders of the nation, not as to ruin the economies of the other sides. Wages have increased ten times in the past two years, unemployment is continuing to lower by the day, hundreds of billions of dollars of investment are pouring into Zeon. These are changes that I am proud of and would not seek to undo. Yet at the same time while we are moving to self-sufficiency and greater economic prosperity, we must not forget our fellow Spacenoids around the Earth sphere. For they too have suffered the same struggle that we have undergone in the effort to establish a new life in space. Since Zeon prides itself in leading the charge for the betterment of Spacenoids as a whole, we are more than welcome for any form of cooperation in the future whether they be politically or economically. In just two weeks my father and I will be meeting with representatives from Side 6 to discuss trade deals and how Zeonite corporations can help to invest in Side 6 and introduce new technologies to the colonies. So overall we are more than welcome to any cooperation with the other sides. We merely wish for an equal partnership and are waiting for the other sides to join in talks as well."

"Great response. Its nice to know that Zeon will be working closely with the other sides in the future. After all it is what Zeon Deikun had hoped for in his vision for the Newtypes. Our next question comes from Mr. Magi who according to his profile is a recently immigrant from the Texan colony at Side 5 seeking work at Zeon. 'Now I have kin who work at Mars, they do a lot of construction work on the hab blocks and shielding, much like what I do when it comes to retoolin' machine parts. Now this gets me thinkin', what're your plans for the Belt and beyond since we're also goin' out to Mars to boot? There's lot of raw resources out there, probably more than what the Feds got with ease, and it'd give them something more to do out there once Mars is all set up and habitable.' " ' _Oh God is this what all Texans sound like nowadays. What have we become?'_ "No this is actually something I am very interested in myself as recently you in particular have been making a constant message of the exploration of space as a whole through the different planets and formations in the solar system and beyond. Hopefully we'll also get to Mars soon as I would also like to see an answer to that."

"In relation to your first concern about the space policy. The Zabi administration has made it known that we will seek to exploit space to the fullest in order to meet the needs of the Zeon people. These include multiple projects such as the Mars colonization, greater Helium-3 production on the moon, trade with the other colonies, mining of the asteroid belt, and possible colonization on the Jovian moons. These actions are all being done with the endgoal being the benefit of the people of Zeon as the bounties of resources that come in will help to raise the lifestyles of Zeon and continue its sustainable growth and expansion in the future."

"Isn't this however a stark contrast to the philosophy of Zeon Deikun who advocated for all of humanity to move to the Sides and live a new life in the colonies.?"

"On the contrary I think the actions we are undergoing are of a direct following to the ideals of Zeon. All that Zeon Deikun had said was for humanity to achieve our Newtype potential by starting new lives in the stars and in the process helping the Earth to recover from humanity's footprint. He never said anything of living in the colonies forever or not using what resources we have available. In addition one does not need to live in a space colony to obtain the Newtype power as seen by reports of Newtypes on both Earth and Luna. While we can establish good lives out here in the colonies, I say that we expand upon it and build a lasting legacy across the stars by spreading humanity wherever possible and securing resources to better the lives of the people in the Earth sphere so that we don't have to face a resource crises in the future. Back to the question of the asteroid belt, we are actively planning on performing strip mining in the area so that we can obtain rare metals to feed the economy and possibly produce new mobile suits or space colonies. This is the safest way to protect the environment of both Mars and Earth without ruining their surfaces, and at the same time the most profitable as the asteroid belt alone has enough metals to sustain Zeon for the next three centuries. Beyond the extraction of precious metals, most likely discovering new sources of Helium-3 or water, the two main components of life in the colonies."

Our next question comes from Doragon who asks 'Mr. Zabi, how has Federation action or inaction influenced your decision making?'. A pretty straight forward question, though one I think we all know the answer to as you've been making it your mission to bash Lhasa every chance you get."

I chuckle a little bit in response. I don't know if its the Gihren or Zeon fanboy side of me but constantly targeting the Federation in my speeches is something I get quite passionate about. "This is actually a good question as it is essentially one that revolves around the main policies of not only Zeon, but the Earth sphere. For the past seven decades since the Universal Century has began, the Spacenoids and the Terrans have lived in an symbiotic relationship which in the beginning was supposed to be a mutualistic one. The Spacenoids provide a home for overcrowding and send raw materials and goods to Earth, while Earth provides for the welfare of the Spacenoids and continues governs the colonies in a fair manner to represent their interests. Seventy years and six sides later, that relationship has become a parasitic one as the Terran elite who rule on Earth do nothing but leach off the hard labor of the Spacenoids while receiving nothing in return. This is the same model that led to the extensive decay of the First Imperial system in the Colonization Ages of Anno Domini that led to its downfall. If no reform will be enacted to change the system then it is very likely that both Earth and the colonies will self-implode in the coming decades. In order to reverse the tide of stagnation that has plagued the Universal Century so, we must need firm leadership that will meet the problems of the people head on without any bureaucratic stranglehold keeping us back. That is why the government of Zeon has always taken the initiative in meeting the affairs of our citizens first as we are the ones who they must find a voice in due to the unequal representation present in Lhasa. While Earth suck the fruits of the colonies and leaves us with the bare minimum, the Zabi administration is working to reverse that so that our nation may live in prosperity and self-reliance without the constant control of a few hundred men and women on a planet tens of thousands of kilometers away. This is why the Federation should increase autonomy throughout the colonies so that we may solve our issues immediately and govern ourselves in a manner we see fit."

"This next question from user Deathcloq will be an extension of our previous concern towards the colonies, particularly Mars. 'What will be the Zabi position/position of Zeon regarding future relations with the Martian colonies once they're developed and any future seed colonies planted by Zeon?' Mars is actually a topic I've been looking forward to the most as it seems quite curious to me why the Zabis would be so interested in such a venture when the advocate for a greater focus on the colonies."

I rubbed the back of my head a little bit nervously as this ones all on me. "I have to admit Dan that the move for Mars' colonization is mostly because of me than anyone else. You see, during my time as Colonial Secretary, this was an idea I had pitched to Zeon Deikun who in turned lobbied for recognition with Lhasa. Since the Universal Century began we've had the Mars terraforming project going on with the key results showing in that oceans are starting to form, moss is growing, and we have a mostly breathable atmosphere. The main problem to all this unfortunately is that any plans for colonization have stopped for the indefinite future with resources moving towards the construction of Side 7. My reasons for wanting to continue the Mars Project was so that Zeon, and Spacenoids as a whole, could have their own second Earth to call home. The mistakes of Anno Domini, most notably the Third World War, have shown how badly we mistreated our planet with the continued deteriorating of the environment. Yet at the same time while space migration is a potential solution, Earth holds plenty of raw materials that could benefit the colonies such as endless supplies of water, multitudes of animal and plant species, rare Earth materials, and other resources that you cant find anywhere else in the colonies. Our hope is to create a second Earth so that way we can provide these materials to the people and at the same time hopefully build new colonies to recreate the same living experiences that our ancestors had undergone. For as much as I love to live in the colonies, it is not a permanent solution with overcrowding already taking place in the sides, along with the inability to create new colony cylinders to meet population demands. Therefore Spacenoids should expand their homes to exoplanets as well as colony sides in the future."

"Perfectly reasonable. This next question is building upon colonial relations but more specifically focuses on Jupiter. From Miner249er, I wonder if he's a miner. 'Mr Zabi, What are your plans, for future relations between Zeon and Jupiter?' "

 _'Blow Space North Korea the fuck out of existence with Zaku IV's of course.'_ Unfortunately I can't actually say that as no one knows of Dogatie's crimes and we need them at the moment for Helium-3. Kycillia and I have been trying repeatedly to infiltrate the Jovian sphere but they all come to show few results. "Relations with the Jovian sphere are a bit complicated due to Jupiter's extreme isolationism and signs of xenophobia that they have given not only to Terrans, but the Spacenoids of the colonies as well. Right now our focus is to maintain a stable trading relationship with the Jupiter Fleet as intermediaries so that Zeon may obtain the energy it needs to sustain the economy. It is our hope that relations cane be improved in the future. However there is currently no sign from the new leader of Jupiter, Crux Dogatie, that he is open to talks. We will just have to wait and see on that one."

"The next question from username holyknight, a self-proclaimed trainer from Granada asks, 'Mr Zabi, I have a deep fear. A friend of mine on Earth, told me recently that there were rumors of black suited Federation agents declaiming about the "Dangers of Newtypes" and such things, and made pointed questions about one of his children. Then i lost contact with him. What its happening in Earth to the Newtypes? This consumes my worries, as two of my children were certified with such potential in the Flanagan Institute. I just wish to know if they will be safe.' Mr. Zabi any thoughts on the manner? Especially seeing how you were the one to reveal Newtypes to the Earth sphere?

 _'Oh Christ, we're getting into the Newtype purges aren't we?'_ In hindsight I should've realized when I made my big announcement of the existence of Newtypes that this type of shit would happen. After all if they would be turned into human weapons in Zeta with no one seemingly trying to question the huge morals and ethics of it besides an AEUG member being like , "Oh no, this is bad.", then I highly doubt that position would change in 0069. It's just that with the research that Flanagan was undertaking it's not like I could keep it a secret forever. Besides its better we get the gritty question of Newtypes solved at the current moment then have some sort of Apartheid in the future with a messy Civil Rights movement that could lead to a civil war of the entire human race. "First of all while I would like to state my deep sorrow and concern with the existence of such cases and I hope that said friend is alright, as of this moment I cannot make a clear comment on the matter. Earth is completely out of jurisdiction of Zeon and we have received no word from our representatives in the Federation that such an official occurrence is happening at the moment. While there could always be the possibility of a secret government program, I think the more likely course would be backlash from private groups against the spread of Newtypes throughout the human population. In the past year alone Earth has been recorded to have the highest number of hate crimes directed against Newtypes, whether or not the victim in question was even clearly showing signs of being one. This shows how on Earth even though we have made great strides in the Universal Century, the power of gravity will still plague humanity with the problems of Anno Domini. Keep in mind that at the exact same time, tens of thousands of cases of religious, ethnic, racial, and gender discrimination are widespread throughout the Earth each year while the colonies experience far less rates in all categories. This is why Zeon has recently been implementing greater relaxation in our immigrant system to people of Earth so that Newtypes can find a new home within the wals of Zeon. For here we welcome Newtypes as equals and understand the importance of their place in society as the next step of the human journey through the solar system. As I have said countless times again, there is no need to fear of Newtypes for they are normal humans like you are I. They simply have natural gifts that give them enhanced abilities that an Oldtype can easily match through a higher amount of effort. Studies have shown Newtypes to be increasing exponentially through each generation so this is something that cannot be stopped through force.

As for the concern and wellbeing of your children in the Flanagan Institute, there is no need for worry as Doctor Flanagan is the most qualified expert on Newtypes throughout the entirety of the Earth sphere. The Flanagan Institute has been working hard each and every day to strive and answer new questions for Newtypes and discover the full potential that they have so that they may be able to integrate in society with little problems and be able to use their powers to the benefit of society as a whole. Multiple studies into the activities of the Institute have proven that they are more than capable into caring for the wellbeing of Newtypes and that all of their practices are perfectly legal and ethical. If you have any more questions on the matter then I would suggest going to their website or speaking with a representative from Flanagan for further clarification as my knowledge of Newtypes are admittedly not much beyond the basics."

"Mr. Magoo asks, 'What are your plans for education? The tech boom made a lot of on-job employees unable to keep up with the changing job requirements and on top of that students are currently learning from an out of date curriculum. Is the reform also inclusive for those on the workforce?' "states Dan.

"I'm actually glad that you brought this up Dan as it is the current agenda that parliament is trying to deal with right now. As you can see while our tech boom has created numerous opportunities for the workforce in Zeon, it has caused an unintended backlash in that many blue-collar workers are finding it increasingly difficult to do their job with the new technology, and in some cases we're seeing some layoffs. Thankfully this has been balanced due to the large expansion within the private sector that has created more factories within Zeon for these people to fill in, but it is only a temporary solution as rising birthrates, foreign labor, and the rise of an educated laborforce that is adapted to this new tech will eventually cause heavy competition. Then of course before the last issue comes to the fray, there will be plenty of students just graduating from high school or university who can't find a job due to similar reasons. At the moment we are working closely with the Department of Education to update the current curriculum to adapt the new technology to our classrooms as well as bring in new studies that are adaptive to the changing times. Newtype courses being a heavy example. Our goal is to direct both private and public schools to offer classes that focus on specific trade specialization and skills needed to both participate both in the workforce and as a private citizen. As good as the private arts are for the development of a young mind, we're increasingly receiving more demands from students that would give them classes to teach them how to do taxes rather than learn how to play a violin. The Zabi administration is also cooperating with several new corporations to offer classes or scholarship programs that would give both students and laborers an on hand experience with new technologies along with teaching from highly certified experts. One good example being Zeonic's new mobile suit program which offers familiarization with mobile suit operation to students looking to enter into the field of robotics as mobile suits are increasingly becoming an essential part of the economy.

At first most of the reforms will admittedly be focused on the workforce so as to provide for an equal opportunity environment without the competition being so clearly one sided. Once the effects on labor specialization have been balanced, then we will immediately shift focus to implementing these lessons to our children. Our first tests runs of the new curriculum will be set for the 0070-0071 school year with the finalization of all forms being finished for the class of 0075 as our target date. More details on this will be available for the public in the coming days as Parliament finishes the drafting of different bills focused on education."

This next question is one that I think is in the minds of many of the taxpayers over the new Zabi reforms that have been implemented this year. Poliscienst Maggie Flores from Granada asks, 'I'm a little concerned about how you expect to pay for not just the military, but all of these sweeping reforms. Where are you finding the money, and how will this affect taxes from both the corporations, but the workers as well? If you aren't raising taxes, what do you expect to cut?' Since the start of Spacechat we've actually been having rather frequent discussions over the recent rise in government spending in debt over the past two years with the creation of several new government programs that Zeon has been creating. With your presence here Vice Minister, I think now would be a good time to get your POV on the expectancy of the taxpayer to pay for these reforms and the greater economic effects with the rise of the deficit."

I internally groan a little bit at having this topic be raised. While it is a good question overall and important for the people of Zeon to know, I'm just frustrated that we still have to deal with the same basic economic issues that the United States was going over a hundred years ago. Now that I'm actually in the position of such reforms, I can understand what Obama was going through when he had to deal with the fiscal Conservatives. "This is actually a very good question Dan as it raises one of the main issues our political opponents bring up with the new reforms passed by the Zabi administration. The ongoing fear that we are just printing monopoly money and having wasteful spending occur with the people's taxpaying money. While it is true that the creation of said programs will cause a financial burden on the average citizen, at the same time Zeon's economic boom and the policies of said programs will prevent such a situation from happening. In the past two years alone our GDP has skyrocketed from $20 Trillion to $25 Trillion. Under current estimates from economists, Zeon's GDP will rise to a nominal GDP of $38 Trillion credits over one fifth of the current GDP of the Earth sphere. With the influx of trillions of credits into the private sector of Zeon, the average income of the citizen increases and with it comes an increase of income tax revenues along with it. Had taxes stayed the same since 0067, then the Zeon government would see an intake of $2.3 Trillion on the same tax codes. Now obviously we have been raising taxes of late to get started on the programs all around. My family not being held above the others as we have to pay a higher tax rate for all of our assets, my brother Sasro has released records of our past tax forms earlier today so you can go and check for yourself on everything we've done. With the new rise in taxes also comes the increase in revenue from other sources such as the new tariffs that we had implemented a month ago on Terran goods, incerased trade with the other colonies, increased sales tax revenue thanks to lower costs all around on new products, reforming of the bond system which actually increased our annual revenue by several billion, and the tens of billions of credits being brought in with mining of Helium-3 on the moon and extraction of resources from the asteroid belt. At the same time our Secretary of Treasury, Isaac Sachs, has been hard at work this year in finding and eliminating all wastes in the government as possible. Add to that the massive cuts in government regulations that yours truly has seen to implement, and the Republic of Zeon has seen the cutting of $413 billion credits for this fiscal year.

One thing I must stress is that our reforms for Zeon are a long-term process that will take several years. They will not be put into action in a day, and as such will not require the full spending for their budget in this year alone. It's more than likely that all of our reforms will take decades to be finalized, but that's okay as the economy will have kept up by then that we can see each reform implemented step by step and we'll still be able to see a positive growth in the job market. Right now we are looking at lowering taxes for the lower and middle classes in the 0071 fiscal year while our the growth of the private sector will in the meantime balance it out with the expansion of job opportunities for Zeon citizens in all social circles. This process wont be easy and will take lots of time. But with the right amount of patience, we can get it done."

Our ninth question of the day comes from user flevantien, 'How do you supposed to guarantee that all members of Zabi family will uphold their bargain to keep putting the prosperity of Zeon first and the needs of its people, instead of gaining more influence and power like what happens to the prominent families like the Marcenas or The Vist?' Now this is actually something that I was wanting to see in the comments all day or else I would've asked myself. Vice Minister, with all the talks of the corruption of the Terran elite and the Marcenas family in particular, you do rather seem to dodge the question of holding the Zabis accountable. With the main focus being on making your father a monarch, in this day and age of all, how will the Zabis put themselves to the same standards as those they hold accountable?"

"First of all I'd like to thank flevantien for asking this as it is the primary argument that the opposition likes to rub in our faces so often. Calling us fascists and no better than the Bonapartes in a quest for power. Of course after the Age of Monarchs has come and passed, its more than understandable to be worried about putting a family in a position of large power. For every great ruler in history there has always been ten bad or mediocre ones. As I've stated in multiple times on the campaign trail, the Zabis have proven themselves to be public servants first and foremost as our track record and actions have proven that all of the policies that have been created either by my father, or myself and my siblings, have benefited the state and the people in many more ways than us. Meanwhile the Marcenas family did little to rise to power besides being lucky to have Georges Marcenas succeed his father Ricardo. Since then the Marcneas family has always put forth action that entrenches their family even further in power in Lhasa while the Spacenoids suffer for the corruption and degradation of Earth."

"Yes, we've all head this multiple times before. Now as for the possible checks on Degwin Zabi as Sovereign as the question stated?" Dan stresses.

"Sorry for that. I didn't mean to deflect the question, just went a little off tangent. First of all I'd like to remind you that the Principality is something that is binging entirely on the referendum. So if the people feel that Degwin Zabi should not lead them in a permanent position, then they are more than free to vote No in October. That in and of itself is a far greater check than anything placed on the politicians at Lhasa. Secondly, once the Principality vote has been approved for Yes in such a hypothetical situation, a Constitution shall then be created for the new Principality. In said Constitution, there will be multiple checks and balances present within the government, with clauses directly detailing on the powers of the Sovereign and the position of the Royal Family. Once the drafting has been finalized, the Constitution shall then be put into another referendum. If the people then feel that the document shall give the Zabis too much power, then they can simply reject it and a new one shall be created with better checks. It's important to remember that at the end of the day, it shall be you the people who shall put us into power. And as such you will have a direct say in what shall become of the vote, and how the future of the Principality shall be decided. This is something that has never been seen before in human history as we are creating a monarchy from the ground up with the citizens involved in every step of the way. Therefore it is your choice, and your power to change it."

"Thank you for that response. I think it's safe to say that you have cleared up some pretty nervous minds on the subject. For those of you who are still tuned into the podcast, I am sorry to say but we will be ending the show right at this moment as we have officially run out of time for the interview. If you have liked our show so far then be sure to leave a like and comment on what's been happening. If things turn out well then we might have an encore in the future. Vice Minister any last words?"

"Well Dan, today has been a very good experience as it is nice to receive the worries and needs from the people in such a direct manner. After all one must remember that it is the politicians who serve the voters, not the other way around. If you would like to see similar events then be sure to stay tuned to ZeoNet for our Town hall on July 14th where myself along with my father and brother Sasro will be present to receive more questions on the matters of state. Also be sure to do your duty and vote for the referendum in October. Even if you decide to vote No on the ticket, then your presence will still be appreciated as you will made your voice heard for the people of Zeon. Thanks once again Dan and I look forward to more of your work in the future."

"You heard it here folks. Vice Minister Gihren Zabi, possible future prince of Zeon on why you should vote Zabi on October 8th. Stay tuned for next week as we talk with our next guest, Luna Federation MP Blex Forer, on the current state of the Earth sphere and how the colonies can get equal representation in the future. This has been Dan Connors, signing off for Spacechat!"

 **A/N: I must admit that the reason for the delay is that this has been probably the roughest chapter for me to write. Not too difficult in format, just hard to get motivated and finding the right answers. Thank you for everyone who had participated the last week on both Alternatehistory and Fanfiction by submitting questions. Special shoutout goes to Dethklok , Mr. Magi ,holyknight , Doragon , miner249er , and Flevantien for your contributions to the questions. Hope you guys were satisfied with the answers. Chapter 20 will be the final one before the referendum and as a special treat will have some AmuroxArtesia moments. Please leave a like and comment below and stay tuned for more Gihren's Glory. Sieg Zeon!**


	20. Haro

**September 29th, 0069**

We're now in the final stretch of the campaign with only 16 days until the referendum. So far everything's been going to plan. I would go over what had happened in the last few months but there was really nothing of note. A few campaign stops here and there, some appearances on news stations, your frequent town hall and debate here and there. To be honest it was rather boring with how easy it was. When I was little I imagined running for office as president and the challenges and effort that I would put into my campaign and how I would beat the odds and win in a landslide victory against whoever I came up against. If I were to describe the Principality campaign in an historical comparison, then I would use the 1936 U.S Presidential Election with FDR versus Alf Landon, with Degwin as FDR and the anti-Zabi movement as the Republicans. Hopefully the final result would turn out in that same kind of landslide. However in order to have that happen I needed to tie up some loose ends. Which is why I was driving to the Deikun household right now straight after work.

Now nothing bad had happened between our two families in the last few months. While I haven't been able to visit them with the campaign and my work as Prime Minister, Garma is regularly with Casval and Degwin makes some infrequent visits to the Deikun household every now and then. Just last month we had them over for dinner. Its just that during all this time I was never able to confront Astraia about her and the children's feelings of the Principality move. So far Astraia had been keeping a neutral stance when being interviewed by the media a few times and Kycillia has reported that she never once was in any contact with members of the opposition; though they have tried to get in touch with her on multiple occasions. According to Garma while the topic has been brought up between him and Casval a few times, Casval seems to get rather nervous and changes the subject. Now that right there is the one thing I'm worried about. For while I'm pretty sure that Casval blames Jimba Ral and maybe the Federation for his father's murder, there's no telling what his daddy issues could cause in the future if he doesn't see us as the rightful rulers of Zeon.

While the Zabis may be rising in popularity as everyone's favorite Spacenoid family in Side 3 with how much we've helped Zeon to grow, at the end of the day its the Deikuns who the people will look up to. Few seem to realize the fact but when Zeon Deikun was alive he practically formed his own cult among the Spacenoids of Side 3. Oh sure Zeon may have been a nice man and never ordered anyone to do something immoral, but the level of control that he had over his followers was eerily disturbing. Oh sure canon Gihren manipulated the people through his charisma and had his own group of zealots such as Gato and Delaz, but at the very least the average Zeon citizen held an healthy admiration for the Zabis and there where plenty of people who held a dislike of Gihren for his actions. In contrast you had Zeon Deikun who was practically worshiped as Space Jesus and had hundreds of millions of followers who bought his flawed philosophy of Contolism and would've freely done everything he said. Hell I'm surprised no one's started a religion off of him. In the 2016 election, Donald Trump once said that he could shoot a man in broad daylight in fifth avenue and he'd still have people vote for him. With Zeon Deikun he could mow down a whole crowd of people with a machine gun and he'd still have people who would follow him to the end. Were Astraia to one day out of the blue hold a press conference and say "Don't vote Zabi!", then our support in the polls would drop down fast and we'd be kicked out of office. That is just how much power the name Zeon Deikun has.

This leads us to the topic of Casval, AKA Char Aznable. Now with Artesia I'm not worried too much as she's a sweet little girl with few worries in the world and as Sayla she never tried to hunt down the Zabis, so there's no reason to believe she'd do anything now. Casval was the one you had to worry about as one wrong step in his life could easily led him to going down the same road as Char. Origin already shows that at the time of Deikun's death that he already had issues with his father in the brief scenes that Zeon was alive. While Casval probably wouldn't try and kill us now, he may in the future decide to go against us either politically or in the same manner he did OTL if he starts getting the wrong idea. And when Char Aznable goes crazy then shit hits the fan. Just look at Char's Counterattack for example. In the span of five years after Zeta, Char went from a cool mentor of Kamille that helped to bring down the Titans into an insane sociopath that wanted to drop an asteroid onto Earth and bring about the second worse genocide in human history with the total killing of 2 billion people. While Zeon's actions in the One Week Battle with the colony gassing, nuke firefights, and Operation British may be immoral on every level; it could at least be said that there was some strategic value due to the fact that it did force the Federation to the negotiating table with the crippling of their colonies and would've won Zeon the war if it weren't for Revil's escape. With Char there was absolutely no strategic value whatsoever as the corrupt Federation already agreed to sell him Axis and let Neo-Zeon live in peace. He just wanted to kill 2 billion people for no reason other than the fact that he believed that every Terran was as evil as Jamitov and the most bullshit of all excuses that he wanted the Earth to heal from humanity's scars. Yeah that's some real smart environmental crap where the best way to save the Earth, is to fucking start a nuclear winter! Char's Counterattack was absolutely the worst for ruining all the great buildup that went into Char's character and a huge variety of other reasons so bad that I could write a hundred page essay on how the movie sucks and still have room left over.

Sure I may be paranoid but when you look at how my brother and sister were killed by the future version of Casval and how easily he went insane would you really want to leave things to chance? After all if Garma never died in the first place then there's a huge chance that Zeon would've actually won the war despite its many faults that was starting to reveal with the prolonged campaign on Earth. This is why I needed to head to the Deikun's now in order to be sure one last time before our family power is secure. If Casval truly isn't interested in politics as he says and he doesn't hold any negative feelings toward the Zabis then great, I'll leave the kid be and we can go on with our lives like nothing happened. If he does show signs of slipping into his old self, well... I have formed several contingency plans and let's just say that the young Deikun heir wouldn't have a good outcome. Something I dearly hope to avoid.

After nearly an hour drive from the capitol to the upper estates of Zum City, my state limo pulls up to the driveway and the Deikun estate security lets us through after checking the ID's. I exit the car once its parked in the driveway while the secret service detail following me stands aside at the limo since there wouldn't be any threats with the Deikun estate being secure. I walk up to the door and ring the doorbell a few times, waiting several moments for a response. After a short amount of time I hear someone walking to the door and Astraia herself opens it with a smile on her face. "Gihren! What a pleasant surprise to see you here. I would've thought you'd be home right now or still at the office with the campaign. Is Garma here for a visit?" she asks.

I smile back in response. "Hello Astraia, its been quite a while so its nice to see you too. No Garma isn't with me as he's with my father at home for the moment. I actually came here of my own accord as I wanted to catch up on recent events. Could we perhaps speak inside?"

"Sure Gihren, you should know by now that your welcome at our house anytime." Astraia responds. She opens the door fully and I step inside to the Deikun household. For the past two years the interior of the household hasn't really changed all that much as the furniture has still been kept in place and the only noticeable change in aesthetics being the new technologies such as a desktop computer and a flatscreen tv in the living room. If one looked closely however then they could tell that there were some substantial changes. Most notably was the fact that any pictures that contained Roselucia or anything that belonged to her were gone. A month after Deikun's death Astraia made sure to get rid of all of it as trash since she now ran the Deikun household and didn't really need any constant reminders of the wretched hag, not that anyone could blame her as I'm pretty sure that all of Zeon has forgotten her after Deikun's death. On a much sadder note was the placement of new photos in the past two years, the sad part in that they were all various pictures of the Deikun family with Zeon himself being absent. Similarly to the old photo albums of the Zabi family after the death of Alice and Naliss.

I snap out of my somewhat morbid thoughts and pay attention to Astraia who has struck up conversation again. "So how have things been for you lately Gihren? It's been ages since we last spoke and Degwin mentions of how you're hard at work everyday in helping him to run the country. I do hope that you don't overwork yourself too much. Its good to see all the things that the Zabis have done but too much stress can be a bad thing. Just like how Zeon was before his..passing." Astraia says with a rather down note at the end.

"Don't you worry yourself ma'am I've been doing fine. While it is a rather difficult job to have to be second in command of the largest side in the colonies, it is one I take much pride in with how much change I'm able to bring to the people of Zeon. Things have been getting easier lately though since the summer session has ended and Parliament isn't going to be active in the next few weeks in participation for the referendum. Some rather good news is that Dozle is coming back from the moon as he managed to get some leave for a few weeks. He'll be arriving on the 10th so we can finally have the family back together again."

"That's nice to hear. I certainly can't imagine what I would ever do without Casval or Artesia to keep me company everyday. Especially since Casval is growing up everyday and he keeps on talking of joining the Space Force one day with Garma."

"I wouldn't worry about that too soon. He's quite a long time away from joining the academy and..crap!" I yell in slight pain as I trip over a large metal sphere and fall on the ground, slightly bruising my knees. I look back in anger at the thing though my rage subsides when I notice something familiar about it. Specifically how it had a lime green paintjob along with red eyes and attached parts that looked like ears. Reminding me of a certain franchise mascot.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry for that Gihren. I told the children to clean their own mess up. Artesia! Amuro! You come down here right this instant!"

I was a little surprised at first at the mention of Amuro being here but then again I should have expected it since him and Artesia are close friends. When I originally called Astraia about Amuro, all I really said was that there was going to be a new student in Artesia's school who was the son of some Terran defectors and that it would be great for them to be friends. My goals for this were rather twofold. One, by being friends with Artesia Deikun, Amuro would develop greater loyalties to Zeon by exposure to its more prominent families and hopefully will be swept up in the ideals of Zeon Deikun that he would willingly fight for us in the future. Two, because I shipped it. Amuro and Sayla were a rather cute couple in the anime and I was rooting for them in most of the scenes with them together. Unfortunately unlike Bright and Mirai, the show never had them interact with each other after all in Zeta or beyond. Which I thought was really bullshit since literally everyone else on the White Base got one cameo and Char's Counterattack, the movie where Sayla should play an important role considering her brother's trying to nuke the Earth and is fighting against her former love interest, never appeared at all. They were way better together than Amuro being with Beltochika, Chan, and especially Lalah. At least we got Tomino's novels of them hooking up, and who knows they just might do so in the future.

Both children come running down the stairs. Upon seeing myself both of them have a smile on their face, however upon seeing Astraia hold up what I assume Haro with a scolding tone they both quickly blushed in embarrassment, Artesia slightly more than Amuro. Both kids went before Astraia where she then lectured them, "Artesia, Amuro, while I am glad that you two are taking an interest in science, I would like if you could pick up after your work when your done. Your robot caused poor Gihren over here to trip and fall, he could've seriously hurt himself. You two need to apologize right now."

"Sorry." Both Artesia and Amuro said with the apologetic yet annoyed tone that kids usually have when they're sorry yet would rather not get in trouble in the first place. "We're really sorry Gihren, its just that we decided to take a break for a little bit and I left Haro here  
and forgot where I put it. We didn't mean to cause you to have an accident." says Artesia with a pout. I was actually quite happy after hearing that since it confirmed my suspicions that what I stepped on really was an early prototype version of Haro.

"It's okay kids, I just fell. No blood or broken bones so there's no harm done. So this is a Haro huh?" I say with false surprise when I pick up the round robot. I know exactly what Haro is but it would be weird if I acted like I had already seen the thing before since this would be my first time looking upon one as Gihren. 'You know, I think this may be my first time in person period since they probably never had Haro's in Zeon til after the war.' "I may not be an expert in robotics like your father Amuro but even I can tell that there's a fine amount of work put into it. Did you build this all by yourselves?"

"Yeah, I sure did!" Exclaimed Amuro who then winced in slight pain when Artesia playfully jabbed him with a disapproving look on her face. "Well I did come up with Haro but Arty here has been helping me with most of the work." Amuro says with Artesia smiling on hearing her effort being recognized. "It's a robot companion I designed back on Earth so that I could play with it when mom and dad weren't home. When it's finished it will be able to talk, respond to commands, roll around, and hover in zero gravity. I'm hoping to add more stuff in the future but right now I just want to make sure it works at all."

"Sounds very impressive. Have you ever thought of maybe mass producing Haro and selling it as a toy. I'm sure we could make millions at Zeon with the new 3-D printers. Perhaps your father could make a pitch at Zeonic." I suggest. Based on evidence from different shows such as Zeta and Unicorn Gundam, Haro units became all the rage after the war so it wasn't unfeasible to see it do well in the market. It could certainly go a long way towards helping Amuro's civilian career and would definitely be a boost to our already booming economy.

Hearing his work be complimented with such an idea caused Amuro to look down and blush a little in embarrassment. "Do you really think it would be popular? Dad says that it's a good design but I don't really think that many of the other kids would like it."

"What are you talking about Amuro, your work is great. I'm sure that if you brought Haro to class that everyone would make a big fuss over it and they'd want to have one." Chastised Artesia with Amuro starting to blush more from hearing such kind words from his friend.

"Amuro you have a real talent with machines that very few children your age would even come close to being at. I'm sure that whatever you would make that everyone would love it. If you're going to complete it however then you better make sure to take better care instead of just letting something like that lie around." says Astraia.

"Yes ma'am I'll be sure to do it. Mrs. Deikun, is it okay if you could call my mom and tell her I'll be late a few hours? Arty and I are almost done and I'd rather complete it today then have to work on it tomorrow." Asks Amuro.

"Sure thing Amuro, you can stay as long as you want. Why don't you and Artesia finish your work upstairs while Gihren and I continue our discussion." Amuro and Artesia then go back upstairs to finish building Haro. Hopefully they'll have completed it before I leave so that way I can see the real thing in person. "I swear that Amuro is just too cute for his own good. I should really thank you Gihren for telling me about him so that Artesia could introduce herself. It must have been so hard adjusting to life in the colonies after having to leave Earth just because he's a Newtype, so its really good that he was able to connect to Artesia. I'm also glad for her sake as well as she's had trouble interacting with some of the other kids due to being her father's daughter. And they make such a great couple even though they both deny it. I wouldn't even mind having him as my son-in-law one day." says Astraia. Its good to see that I'm not the only one who ships it.

"That would make for a nice wedding. Astraia would you mind if we sit down in the living room to discuss something important? This might take a while and I would like to hear your full input on the matter." Astraia nods and we go to the living room sitting across each other in seperate chairs. I'm about to start talking when Casval walks in through the door. 'Perfect. I can get rid of two birds with one stone.'

"Mom I'm home from school. Oh hi Gihren, is something the matter?" asks Casval who is standing at the door with his backpack.

"Nothing much. I just wanted talk with your mother about something important. Although seeing how it partially relates to you I'd like for you to join in the conversation as well."

"Okay then." Casval puts his backpack down and then walks over to take a seat right next to Astraia. With Casval here right now I can get his feelings on the referendum out of the way and not have to deal with Char Aznable later. I'm going to have to handle what I'm about to say next very carefully.

"Today I came here because I wanted to talk to you guys about a very important movement that is going on. The Principality referendum. Now my family and i had no involvement in the creation of such a thing and I was certainly surprised the first time I heard about it." _'Biggest lie in the history of mankind.'_ "But father still accepted the creation of such a vote and I've been supporting him constantly. Now I came here today because I wanted a clarification of things and to hopefully understand your opinion of the matter. We are not trying to become heads of a principality just for the sake of power. I have loved and respected Zeon Deikun as if he was a second father to me and everything I have done within these past couple of years has been to achieve his dream for all spacenoids. Heck we even named our country after the man. It's just that in the wake of his death, which I know was hard on you guys, Zeon will need strong leadership moving forward. If I could leave Zeon as a democracy then I'd be more than fine with it, but as you saw with the actions of Jimba Ral, there will be many sections of Side 3who will want to bring the dream of Zeon down. In addition we'll need firm leadership moving forward if we are to face the Federation. They're growing in power every day and will do anything to set back the progress we've achieved the past few years just so Earth can control the colonies in a tight grip. Someone has to put a stop to them and we can't do that if the bureaucratic deadlock of republics will happen as they've proven so many times in the past.

The Deikun family has always been friends of ours and we're grateful to have continued that friendship in the past year. Especially Garma with you Casval. If Zeon were still here then I would love more than anything to have him still continue to take charge and maybe even see you succeed him one day Casval. However if his legacy is to live on for the entire Earth sphere to experience, then we'll need something like the Principality to act as its sword and shield. I'll understand if you have any reservations for what we're doing right now, but please understand that it is out of necessity to Side 3 more than anything. Would you please stand with us as our families always have?" I ask pleadingly. Hopefully that didn't come out like a campaign ad as it was pretty genuine from myself, mixed with lies and half-truths to be sure. While I do believe that Zeon could've maybe won the war on his own, in his absence the Zabi family are the ones who will need to rise to power and grant the Spacenoids the independence they so deserve. In order to see things through to the end I'll have to start history's largest dictatorship. All for the good of mankind.

"Gihren I know that you and your family would never do this out of sheer greed. Degwin was always Zeon's closest friend and it was the Zabis who were the first ones to help us after his death. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be able to watch my own children grow up or spend any time with them. Just this year alone you and your father have done some amazing things for the nation in your leadership. It's something that I think Zeon would be happy to see if he's looking down upon us. While I was quite surprised upon hearing these talks of a principality, I can understand why. We do need firm leadership now against the Federation. While I did worry for my husband sometimes as he would often get quite stressed and devoted to his work, he was the only thing standing between us and the Federation. I have faith that the Zabis can fill that role now." Said Astraia.

"I don't care about whether or not you and your family become the leaders of Zeon. I've known Garma for two years and I can trust that he would make a great ruler for the country. I don't care about any of that. What I do care about is getting revenge against the Federation for killing my father." said Casval.

"Casval! I thought we agreed not to talk about that again." said Astraia.

Meanwhile i sat up in surprise upon the revelation of Casval's feelings. _'Whoa, whoa, whoa! Char, I mean Casval thinks the Federation killed his dad. I mean they practically did, but that's beside the point. This, this is a GOLDMINE! If Casval puts at least half the effort into bringing down the Federation that he did killing my family in OTL, then the Feddies will be sure to lose.'_ "What are these thoughts on the Federation's involvement in your father's death. You know that the doctors said it was natural." I say with feigned intrest.

"Come on Gihren, you know just as well as I do that it was the Federation behind it. There's no way that dad would have a heart attack when he was healthy at the age of fifty-two. I know what he was going to talk about that day. I remember how on the night before how he was practicing his speech where he was going to declare independence for Side 3 and announce the creation of Newtypes. And yet he dies the same day right before he's able to give it. It's because of the Terrans. They knew that my dad would give it and that's why they assassinated him. I don't care about ruling Side 3, I never wanted to anyways. That's why I want to join the military to avenge dad's death. I know the real reasons for our military buildup is to bring fight against the Federation. When that happens I intend to be on the front lines and get the independence that my father died for." Casval proclaims passionately.  
 _  
'Wow, the kid's smarter than I can give him credit for. Then again he did start the first ever MS fight if you count his Guntank battle in Origins, at the age of 8.'_ I should have expected this in all honesty. While he may not have shown signs to Garma there's no way that Casval would just let his dad's death go. I'm just lucky that he blames Earth instead of us this time around. "Casval, Astraia, what I'm about to tell you is a state secret and something that we have kept from you two and Artesia for what we thought was to be your own good. In the weeks after Zeon Zum Deikun's death, both Kycillia and I looked extensively into his death to see if there was any foul play. Unfortunately we weren't able to find any tangible evidence that something had gone amiss. However, we do know at the time that the Federation was planning his death and that they were developing new drugs to poison him. I don't know where and how they were able to do it, or how it fooled the doctors, but I'd bet my entire families fortune that the Federation is responsible."

Upon my revelations Astraia begins to weep while Casval gains a determined look on his face upon proving he was right. _'God I hope that we find some evidence in Jaburo during the war to prove my claims. If not then I'll have to nuke the place or else there will be some intense questioning afterwords.'  
_  
"I'm sorry to have had to tell you this. The only reason that we haven't gone public is because there is little evidence to back up our claims and the Federation would most likely intervene and destroy Zeon for good. In order to get justice for Zeon's death, we'll need to build up our military into a powerhouse and crush the Federation should they try and go against us. It will take many years to see to the end, but I promise Casval that I will get justice for your father and all of the Spacenoids who the federation have wronged. In the meantime don't try and let this rage for vengeance consume you. You will still have many years in your childhood until then and you should try and be happy during the meantime, it's what your father would have wanted. Your chance to avenge him will come, just wait patiently and try to live a normal life with your family until then.

"I know Gihren, I'll wait. I don't have any power now and it will be some time until I can even be in a position to go against the Federation. Until then I'll try and move forward. When we do go to war however, I want to see Jaburo burn. And I will see it with my own eyes." Casval pledged

I sit back and inwardly smirk with Casval's promise. _'Watch out Earth. For the Red Comet's wrath will be upon you.'_

 **Artesia Deikun POV**

"Okay Arty, I just need to make sure these screws are in place and we should be done. Hand me the sonic screwdriver." Commanded Amuro.

"Amuro there's nothing sonic about it. It's just a regular screwdriver. Honestly you can be such a dork sometimes." I reply back.

"Shut up. You just haven't watched the classics to appreciate my use of words."

"There's nothing classic of a show about an old British guy who flies around in his blue police box."

"Just like how your show about teenagers fighting monsters in spandex and giant robots is considered a classic?" Amuro retorted. I pout a little bit while he smirks but then we let it go since its all in good fun. After nearly a month trying to get the designs finished, obtaining the parts, and working on its completion; we were just about done with building Haro. Since Amuro came to Side 3 he was only able to work on a few projects of his since he and his parents had some hard time settling in. Now that he was used to living in the colonies over half a year he had a lot of free time and we were able to to start at the beginning of the school year. Of course all this could have been completed faster if Amuro's father was involved, but he constantly refused since this was something he wanted to do on his own. I didn't mind too much since I also enjoyed building stuff with him.

Amuro continues to look over the Haro prototype with a great amount of care and detail as typical of him when it comes to machines. I was actually quite impressed that he was able to do such things very easily. I remember when we got our new computers in class last year and how we had to spend a week trying to learn how to operate them. It was far too confusing for me when I started but luckily Amuro was there to help me each step of the way. To say that I was a partner in building Haro is a bit of a stretch itself since I mostly act as Amuro's assistant, but I'm learning more each day and can hopefully do work on my own soon. Amuro then pauses his work for a second and looks at me. "Artesia, did you really mean what you said back there? How my work would be so good that the entire class would like it?" He says with a little bit of anxiety in his voice.

"Of course Amuro. You're building your own robot at the age of six, do you know anyone else our age who can do that? I've seen all the work that you put into your journal and we've both been working hard on Haro to make it perfect. If it does work later today then I'm sure it can do everything you built for it and more. Besides if anyone tries to say that your work is stupid then I'll slug them!" I say holding up my fist, causing Amuro to laugh.

"Thanks for that Arty. Also thanks for helping me throughout all of this. I've never completed something without my dad before so it's nice to work with someone else for a change."

"Sure no problem." I replied. Although I would never admit to anyone (and most certainly not Casval) I was really grateful to Amuro for not only being my best friend, but my first actual friend.

All my life everyone outside of my family, and maybe the Zabis, have only cared about me just because I was Zeon Deikun's daughter. Whenever I met someone they never asked me about who I was or what I liked or anything, they just constantly asked about dad. "How is it like to be Zeon Deikun's daughter? What do you think of your dad's work? Can I meet your father? What are your views about Contolism?" It was extremely annoying having to step outside of the house and constantly be made the center of attention just because of my dad. The worst of all was that old hag Roselucia who treated mom like dirt and always tried to get in mine and Casval's life. _'Good riddance.'_ Don't get me wrong, I love my dad and everything that he did, I just wish he wasn't important so that we could live a normal life. Maybe if he wasn't famous then he wouldn't have died, or at least according to what Cas believes.

Due to my status it was really hard to make friends at school. Oh sure everyone would talk to me and I was only at the center of my attention, but I knew that was only because of dad and that they were just sucking up to me. Had I been anyone else's daughter no one would probably even come talk to me. While Casval had Garma I had practically no one. That is until a certain dork from Earth came into my life.

I remember one day mom coming to me and telling me that there would be a new student in my class from Earth who's parents were important to what Uncle Degwin was doing and that it would be nice if I could talk to him and make a friend. I said yes, though that was only because mom asked me to since I knew that the Terran likely wouldn't care about me and my life would just go on. On my first day I was actually surprised with how shy Amuro was and how whenever he talked to me he didn't care about my last name, but that he actually wanted to speak to me and find out who I was. Since then we became good friends and did practically everything together.

Though Amuro certainly had his quirks in that he was extremely shy, a huge nerd with machines, and was sort of a know it all, he was a really good friend and the best you could ask for. He would always help me whenever I had any problems, talked to me about our days, and shared many of the same interests that I did. I especially liked going over to the Ray's house as it was a nice and loving family, reminding me so much of how we were before dad died. Hopefully in the future we can still be friends and do lots of things together. Since both Amuro and I are Newtypes we can even attend the Flanagan Institute after elementary. Though his parents seemed awfully wary of this. No matter what though I promised to be with him to the end. Amuro was my first real friend and I certainly wouldn't let go.

Turning my attention back to him, Amuro was tightening some of the bolts on Haro and then set his tool aside and wiped his head with his sleeve to get rid of the sweat. "And done. I checked everything over and we should be set to go. Lets just turn him on and we'll see what happens from here."

Amuro then turns the on button on Haro and we both move back a little bit to wait in anticipation. At first nothing happens for a few moments and it looks to be a failure, then Haro's red eyes start to turn bright signaling his activation. The small round robot then "blinks" its sensors and looks around shifting its body. It then bounces up and down while changing its modes frequently. "Haro, Haro!"

"Amuro we did it! It works" I shout with joy as I hug Amuro right next to me, both of us then realize the situation and then quickly back off with a blush. Amuro then slides over to Haro with a huge grin on his face.

"Hi Haro. I'm Amuro and this is Artesia. We are your creators. Do you understand?" Amuro asks

"Amuro. Artesia. Create Haro." Haro replied while bouncing up and down.

"This is great! My first ever independent robot, all with its own AI. I cant wait to show dad!" says Amuro

I was really proud of Haro. While I may not have come up with it, I was able to take part in building it and had seen it to its completion. Just another thing that I was grateful for bringing into my life thanks to Amuro Ray.

 **A/N: Before the next update I'd like to take the time to address the content of this chapter. While it was pretty slow in terms of plot development and may be unnecessary, it was something that I felt was important to the story. First off it is sort of a look into how the Deikun family is doing in the aftermath of Zeon's death and how their moving forward. Mainly with Casval's obsession to take down the Federation and avenge his father's death TTL instead of the Zabis. It was also an important one with the last section where we see the beginning of Amuro and Artesia's relationship. Their relationship as friends, and later as a couple, will be a central side story and will be prominently shown at the start of the One Year War where Amuro and Artesia, along with a handful of other Gundam protagonists, will take centerstage in the story with numerous chapters revolving around their adventures helping Zeon to win the war. Since Amuro is the first Gundam protagonist and a huge part of Origin revolved around Artesia/Sayla, its important to be looking at their happenings along with the lives of other characters as we move forward.**

 **Next update I'll try to release two chapters instantly as it will be a two-parter with the referendum and aftermath. Chapter 23 will be a Feddie chapter with some major characters showing up and then we'll move into the second act. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more. Sieg Zeon!**


	21. Election Day

**October 15th, 0069**

Sasro Zabi POV

"All right everyone, its 5:00 so its time to go home. On behalf of my family I would like to think each and every one of you for a job well done. No matter what the results I'm glad to have worked with such a fine campaign team for these past few months. If all goes well then tomorrow we'll be pleading our allegiance to Lord Degwin Zabi. Thank you and good day." I say to our campaign team in our headquarters at the hotel, to which everyone gives a light applause and then resumes chatting or getting ready to go home. It's not a grand speech like anything Gihren would do but I'm a simple man who prefers getting to the point and letting others act all showy for my benefit.

In truth I didn't really care too much of those who worked under me. Sure they were the highest quality that you could find with careers in lobbying or in the bureaucracy (I never settle for less than the best), it was just that unlike Gihren and Dozle I never really cared to get close to my subordinates. I was their boss and I controlled their pay, as such they should do whatever I say or be fired. It was as simple as that.

I headed back into my office and looked over my computer again to check the latest polls and constant news broadcasts of the event. The most recent polls have us at a constant lead over 70% and the media coverage of us in the last few weeks besides the Terran propaganda on Earth has been relatively good with no scandals of any kind coming out. News reports show lines of people at polling centers all around Side 3 waiting to vote. Apparently it seems that the whole of Zeon is leading to the polls, whether its out of love for the Zabis or a drive to keep us out of power remains to be seen. Overall though I am confident that everything can turn out all right. With Father being publicly known as Zeon's successor thanks to my widespread leaking of footage with his last words, a majority will probably vote for him just because of Zeon Deikun. I just hope that the outcome does go according to plan with no blemishes tonight. If we fail tonight than we can move forward as democratically elected officials with our control of the government and media, its just that I will become the laughingstock of the family for having let down this referendum. Everyone sans Garma has been able to contribute to our rise to power with father's time in parliament, Gihren's projects around the colonies, Kycillia's control as head of security, and Dozle's career in the Space Force. This is my moment to shine and prove to the colonies that Sasro Zabi isn't just some second son who hides in the background.

"Well brother it seems that you run quite the tight ship around here. Let's just hope that you can live up to your duty and make sure that Side 3 will vote Zabi tonight. We wouldn't want to disappoint father now would we?" I look up off the screen and let off a snort of contempt as I stare right across the desk at the new entry into my office, a certain ginger pain in the ass for so many years of my life. My sister Kycillia.

Kycillia and I never really were on the best of terms. Ever since she started to talk that girl has been nothing but a pain, always annoying me and playing suck up to father. We always had conflicting ideas and whenever I would accomplish something Kycillia would then make a point to brag about herself and one up me, her rapid rise to head of security at such as young age not helping anything. While I could respect her for her talents and skills in the field of espionage, I just can't stand her as a person with her haughty personality. Currently we have the most heated sibling rivalry in the family but it wasn't until a few years ago that Kycillia had a greater amount of contempt for Gihren. A sudden realization then came to me, _'Is Gihren the most liked member of the family nowadays?'_

While everyone certainly loves Garma as the little runt is pretty innocent and can do no wrong, recently Gihren has been the center of attention and always in father's eye for his constant submission of reforms and work in taking control of the government, my usage of him as key speaker of the campaign being a good example. Now I never had a problem with Gihren as I agreed with many of his methods and he would always support me in advancing my goals, its just that until a few years ago Gihren was slowly becoming the ostracized member of the family for his rather blunt and callous manner. Then one day he gets run over, has a 180 turn in his personality, and suddenly everyone thinks he's such a great guy. _'Wait, am I the least liked member of the family?'  
_  
I shake those thoughts out of my head and turn attention back to my sister, it would be better to focus on that for another time. "What seems to bring you here sister? You never usually like to see me at work unless I'm meeting with father or Gihren." It was a good question as we generally avoided each other most of the time both at work and home unless it was something we had to cooperate on for the state or our family. We both had our own lives and careers, there was no need to act like the Partridge family.

"I just came by in order to see how your doing and making sure you do your job right. In addition to being head of security I think Princess of Zeon would be a nice title to add to my illustrious career. Then again that is if you actually did your job this time." Kycillia says slyly.

"I did everything that father asked thank you very much. Its out of my hands now so there's nothing left to do but wait for the masses to follow the carrot stick. The real question I should be asking is if you did your job and made sure that the damn feds don't rig the election in their favor." I retorted.

Kycillia scrunches her eyebrows at that. As if she's offended that I claimed she didn't do her part when she just did the same to me, hypocrite. "Of course I did that. What kind of daughter would I be if I let Jamitov go and have his way against father? It hasn't been easy I can tell you that. The feds have been easy over the past month trying to infiltrate Zum City and make their way into your campaign. Just this past week we've had to either arrest or kill forty-nine different Terrans who were trying to rig the election. They seemed to place most of the efforts in hacking the voting booths but our software proved to be too tough for them to even make past the firewall. It was hilarious trying to see some of them bring in floppy disks with viruses for the system. There might be a few out there who I haven't caught yet but I doubt anyone could be able to swing the vote without any substantial notice by the public.

Of course I could just rig it in our favor, but Gihren has gotten in the way of that with his stupid insistence that we have third party observers such as officials from the other Sides to watch over the elections. That's not to say that its impossible and I do have contingency plans in case there's the possibility of a loss. It's just extremely damn hard to do without some imbecile finding evidence and then letting Lhasa know so that they can come in and shut us down. I don't even understand why Gihren did it in the first place, you would think he would be more than willing to be on board for my rigging it."

"Well I for one wouldn't want all my hard work to be nothing just because you decided to take matters into your own hands. I didn't spend eight months and tens of millions of credits just to let you decide the outcome. Besides I think Gihren actually made a good call on that matter. With all the observers there the Federation will have to verify that it was a legitimate vote and there was no tampering. That way when we win there will be no opposition to the rule of the Zabis"

While I was talking I noticed that Kycillia had looked off to the side at the mention of Gihren. While their relationship has improved considerably and Gihren seems to like her now, there's still somewhat of a insecurity on Kycillia's part whenever the topic of our eldest sibling comes up. "Do you think this is the best way to move forward, by creating a monarchy? When father dies or if he ever feels like abdicating then the throne would go to Gihren as the eldest. While he could declare one of us as the heir, I don't think that's a likely scenario since father seems to praise Gihren whenever he can and will always listen to whatever crazy schemes he has one of these days. Can you imagine that situation, Gihren obtaining complete control?" she says worryingly.

"Well I for one don't mind too much. Gihren has proven time and time again that he is more than capable of running the affairs of state. That's why he'll become the new Prime Minister once father becomes Sovereign. The people seem to love him anyways since he's the new face of the family, If I had to run the referendum around Gihren as Sovereign then we'd probably get the same if not an even higher amount of support. What's the matter, I thought you liked Gihren now?" I asked

"It's not that I have an exact problem with him now, it's just that I'm worried that he'll slip into his old persona. I know you've always been his biggest ally but surely you must have recognized the various horrible traits that Gihren had in the past. Sure he might be fine now, but what if this is all an elaborate act. What if he starts acting whatever way he sees fit once he's in charge, what then?"

This was actually a very good point that Kycillia brought up. While I may have been fonder of Gihren then my others siblings in the past, with the possible exception of Garma, I too recognized what our brother was becoming. He was a genius no doubt about it, but the man always had a tint of madness that plagued him down in life. Its hard to tell when it all started, maybe it was when mom died, maybe it was when he entered politics. Whatever the case Gihren was starting to become a double-edged sword that could advance his prospects and yet hurt those around him at the same time. Some days I used to wonder what the

"I don't know what made our brother the way he is today. He claims to have found faith and seen the light, and he's put in far too much dedication to the Church if you wanna call it an act. While it may be part of his transformation I think its something far more significant. Whenever Gihren comes up with a plan he doesn't do it to solve issues today or focus on the immediate aftermath, he looks to what will happen _years_ in advance. Sometimes I look at him when he isn't paying attention, and I can see our brother staring off into space. He always has somewhat of a serious look when he's by himself, always thinking, always plotting. Moving around people, resources, organizations like its an elaborate game of chess. He's done far too much good and has changed far too greatly in order for himself to be in his old ways. Whoever Gihren is now he is our brother and we must support him. We're Zabis, we stick together."

"Even me?" Kycillia says with a slight smirk in her smile.

"Yes even you, my dear soon-to-be royal pain in the ass perfectionist."

Kycillia gives a sigh of content in that and then addresses me, "Thanks for that. I suppose its far too late to be constantly thinking about what Gihren is going to do next. He's been rather sloppy lately in terms of his power base and keeping a close inner circle outside of us so its not like he's going to be performing a coup any day now. I think it comes with the damn job I have to do. You guys get to stay within the legal lines of the law while being paranoid is part of the application for intelligence. You wanna get a ride home together?"

"Sure, just make sure there's not a damn bomb underneath my seat!" I grumbled with annoyance. Ever since my attempted assassination I had become slightly fearful of transportation. It was not a full blown phobia but I think that I have a reasonable right to worry about being blown up a second time.

"Sasro you wound me, do you think I would ever willingly allow a bomb to be in the same car as my brother?"  
 **  
Kaiser Gihren POV**

"Gihren, its time for the elections to start now!" Exclaimed Cecilia upon entering the office. I looked up from from the papers in my hands which were a series of bills pertaining to the mining rights of various Zeon corporations in the asteroid belt. Standing at the doorway was Cecilia wearing her usual business atire but with a bright red button on her chest labelled "VOTE ZABI!" for the referendum. Alongside her duties as my current chief of staff Cecilia had been contributing part time as a member of the campaign team every now and the. It was very helpful since I had to take on the task of key spokesman for the family while also being second in command for ruling Zeon.

"Finally, I can't wait for this to all be over in a few hours. I honestly don't know how dad was able to handle the stress of being elected as an MP. The wait these past few months has been killing me." I said. It truly was somewhat of a new experience for me since as Gihren I had never really won an election for office with my being appointed as Colonial Secretary before the insertion and then being approved for my role as Vice Minister. Come to think of it if things go along as planned then I'll one day become Sovereign without winning a single election in my life. _'Democracy, huh.'  
_  
"I wouldn't worry too much. The people love you and your father has been doing great work as Prime Minister. If they don't elect Degwin Zabi as Sovereign then the people of Zeon would be betraying Zeon Deikun's legacy." I smile at that. While it was one thing to read about all of these great historical movements in history like the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, the creation of America, and the founding of the Federation, it was another to be at the center of it all and practically living it. Generations from know people will look back at this and no matter what will happen in the war I'll have certainly earned my place in the history books today.

I slightly frown at this as another thought came into my mind, one of the future."Cecilia, do you think what we're doing is right? That this truly would be the correct course for Zeon?"

Cecilia blinks a couple of times at this statement as she looks at me curiously. "What's the matter, are you having second thoughts about the vote? You were one of the primary factors responsible Gihren and you will be able to succeed your father as Sovereign one day."

"Yes I know, I don't really have any large regrets about what we're doing per say, its just that I'm a little bit scared at how easy this has been. While my family most certainly aren't space Neo-Nazis, the Federation is right in that we are Fascists. This whole election is possibly the most legal usurpation to absolute power in the history of mankind. While I do intend to keep to the promises and continue reforms once father has become Sovereign, its just a little disturbing that the masses seem to be taking whatever we say word for word and largely don't question it. What if my son or daughter was to one day become corrupt and rule as a tyrant? What if one of their children or my other descendants were to do the same thing. With that we'll have become no better than the Federation and when the historians look back they'll say that Gihren Zabi was the one responsible for this outcome. What then?"

Cecilia shakes her head at my words and then responds, "Gihren while this may not be the most perfect way to power I do think that this whole Principality movement is for the best. You yourself has said several times that democracy has become a failure in the Universal Century. The Federation clings to the word like some sort of sword and shield to show off their righteousness when they give so little thought of the colonies. All those delegates in Lhasa who were elected into power, they don't give a damn about the Spacenoids. Its your family who does. Thanks to you everyone in Side 3 has a job with plenty of money to spare, food is plentiful and cheap, access to the latest technology and medical care for the common man; these are all things which would never have happened even under the reign of Zeon Deikun. Spacenoids are just surviving, their living. You may be a Fascist Gihren but if I had to choice between a Zabi dictatorship or Terran democracy, I'd serve under your dictatorship any day." She said while performing a mock salute.

I chuckled a little bit at that. I think I can understand now how the Zabis managed to get so much love and support in canon. I'm just glad we can do it with hearts and minds instead of fear and terror. No matter when or how the war will begin, until then I'll be proudly serving as the leader of the fine nation of Zeon. It's quite ironic really, that the leader of the largest spacenoid nation and soon to be prince is actually a man with the soul of a Terran. "Thanks for those words of encouragement. No matter how the people vote today I'm glad that I can at least count on your support."

Cecilia smiles and turns to the side a little bit, her face showing a hint of red. _'Is that a blush? No its probably just from my praise of her, that's all.'_ I then stand up out of my desk and put my trenchcoat on to go outside while Cecilia regains her composure with her face returning back to normal. "Well I'll head off to home so that I can be together with father as we watch him hopefully get elected. Tell you what Cecilia, why don't you take the day off tomorrow no matter if we win or lose. Enjoy yourself, you definitely earned it."

"Thank you very much Gihren. After today I'll be looking forward to working under you as Prime Minister. Especially since I get a raise as Chief of Staff of the PM." She says with the last part rather jokingly.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence I'll be glad to have you in my cabinet after the inauguration. Good night!"

"Good night!" Cecilia says as she turns attention back to some files on her desk while I start to make my way out of the building. _'Honestly I'm glad I chose to keep her as my aide. You really don't know what you missed out on Gihren.'_

 **Zabi Household  
**  
It's 9:30 in the Zabi residence, and every member of the family is currently watching in close anticipation for the results. Earlier we had a nice family dinner a few hours ago and instead of the election just relaxed and talked about our daily lives outside of the government. Something nice since after all this might be our last meal as private citizens instead of royalty. At the moment both Sasro and Degwin are in Degwin's office where they're keeping a close tab of things while Sasro is handling various calls with campaign staffers over the incoming results. Kycillia is in a different wing of the house, presumably coordinating operations with Intelligence to make sure that everything is legal and that Jamitov and the Federation haven't put their hand in things, since the elections have been going peacefully without incident and we're currently leading right now I'd say she's doing a good job. Meanwhile I'm relaxing on the couch and just casually watching the results go by on Zeonet, along with Dozle and Garma who are in the room with me. Or I should say Dozle since Garma is currently passed out asleep on the couch, probably getting too tired from all the excitement and after getting bored from the slow incoming feedback of the results. Dozle is sitting back on the recliner and is enjoying a cool beer while watching the election.

It's been rather nice having the big guy around in the last couple of days. Since in the event of a victory Dozle would have to participate as a member of the Royal Family, he was able to get shore leave with some strings by Degwin and I so that he could be with the family for a few weeks. Since Dozle came back a few days ago I've tried to get some time off to spend it with him and Garma since he'll probably have to ship out soon and may be on further long-term deployments in the future. A rather sad thing but something I'm proud of since Dozle is doing his best for Side 3 by contributing to his role as the military. He'll make for a fine leader and admiral once the first shots are fired in 0079 (or whenever the hell the war begins).

I come back into the living room with a bottle of imported Belgian beer in hand, making my way to the second recliner opposite of Dozle as we watch the proceedings. The election is really close to completion with a 95% turnin of the ballot being accounted and only 1 or 2 colonies having yet to have their results fully reported in. Victory is within our grasp as we lead by hundreds of millions of votes, today will be a proud day for the Zabi family.

"We'll brother, unless a colony blows up within the next hour it's looks like the people of Zeon have chosen to give us the mandate as heads of the Principality of Zeon. Ready to become a royal, Lord Dozle?" I ask playfully.

Dozle takes a deep chug of his drink in response and seems to contemplate on the matter a few moments before speaking. "You know Gihren, even though this is happening right now I still can't believe how that we're actually about to pull it off. I know that this is something in the works for several years, especially with the work that you and father have put in, its just so surreal of how far we've come. Don't you remember how in our childhoods our family of six was just crowded in a lone apartment while father went off to work and mom watched over us, at least before she passed." Dozle says with a bit of nostalgia and sadness.

I nod in response as memories from Gihren start to come up of his time as one of the members of the common masses of Zeon. Despite what the show tended to claim with the Zabis being members of a politically affluent dynasty, in all honesty we were mostly able to come here with a huge combination of luck, corruption, and smart plays on the financial market. It wasn't really until Gihren's latter years in high school that the Zabis managed to even live well with the family moving into our current mansion while I/Gihren was in university. Admittedly part of the Zabi rise to power was Degwin handling the shady aspects of the party and managing to rack in enough of an income through his various side deals so that we could live a good life. With all of us sans Garma and Dozle for most of the schemes having joined in at one point or another. I think Gihren's upbringing may have also played a role in the development of his persona on the show. Possibly as a result of a major desire to move beyond his humble origins and leave a lasting legacy to all of humanity as ruler of Zeon. Well he certainly left a legacy all right, just something that was possibly the worst one in human history.

"I remember what your talking about Dozle. Though to be honest while I used to be ashamed of our past, I kind of look back on it fondly now. Without ourselves having raised as the common Spacenoid family was back then, I don't think we would've received the same drive and ambition that led us and father to our current positions today. There were also plenty of fond memories from back then, both when mom was alive and when we had Naliss in the family. I'm just grateful that Garma didn't have to grow up in the same lifestyle and he was able to live a life of comfort. Mark my words Dozle, starting tomorrow I'll make it my mission to ensure that every Spacenoid gets the chance to live a good life and not have to squeal in the poverty forced onto them by Earth!"

"Here, here!" says Dozle and we clank our glasses together in a toast. Dozle then looks up at me with a slight look of regret. "Gihren, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help out with the election like you and Sasro and sis have been doing for the past few months. While I was spending my days on Luna you were out there spreading the good name of our family and Sasro had to run the whole thing in order to support father." I raise my hand to Dozle to tell him to stop and shake my head in response.

"Dozle you have nothing to be sorry for. You were merely doing your duty to Zeon with the Mobile Suit project and that's something that all of us, especially father, are very proud of you for. While the rest of us have to sometimes work in the shadows and around the law to get things done, your able to be perfectly legit by doing the job you love while defending the people of Zeon from any threats both inside and out. Its something I'm envious of sometimes actually as while I have to stay in an office from 9-5, you get to ride mobile suits in space and blow hardware up for a living. While you may not be as political as us you're still a Zabi and a valued member of the family. I'm sure as a future prince you'll do great things for Zeon."

Dozle looks up to me and starts dropping a few tears at my kind words. "Thanks Gihren, that's actually some of the nicest things you've ever said to me!" Dozle then gets up and wraps me in a bear hug, consequently somewhat squashing me with his large frame. _'Honestly despite being the future Lord of Solomon the guy is such a teddy bear.'  
_  
"Dozle, while I am thankful, your kind of squishing me here. Cant. Breath." Dozle notices his unintended grip and lets go, apologizing. "By the way how are things at Grenada? I trust you left things in good condition with Ramba?" I ask with curiosity for the happenings of the future of space warfare.

"Since we started training in February things have been proceeding smoothly without any major mishaps so far. Ral has actually turned out to be a pretty good commander in the endeavor as he's a fine leader in training the young pilots and manages to help out in serving discipline on the base. Surprisingly he's actually somewhat of a natural when it comes to mobile suits. I dare say he might even be better than me. The pilots are turning out well and they'll make fine leaders for the first generation of pilots moving into the future. Right now I'm looking forward to piloting the new Zaku's in the future as Sakamoto has promised that they'll be perfect machines in the art of warfare. What's the status of them by the way Gihren?"

"Well the Zaku I's are finishing the last stages of testing and depending on how things go we'll receive the first models in late November or December. The reason for the delay is mostly because of all the work that Doctor Ray has been doing into the project. Thanks to him there have been numerous improvements in the chasis with a extra additions to increase speed and reaction times." _'Sort of similar to the Zaku-I Char custom in all honesty.'_ "Doctor Ray already has some plans on the drawing board for the Zaku-II and depending on how your tests of the one go, it will be a far better machine with the experience of both the Waff and Zaku-I to be the perfect MS for warfare capabilities. At the same time we're starting to receive offers from other third parties who want contracts for military MS, the most promising candidate so far is the Zudah series under Zimmand." _'Hopefully with my sending of the designs it wont blow up at max velocity that time.'  
_  
Dozle nods his head at approval of the developments with mobile suits on Zeon. "That's good to hear. Kycillia told me that the Federation has barely started on modernizing the Guntank so hopefully by the time Earth gets working on MS designs we'll have perfected the Zaku and possibly include beam weapons for various MS. While I do look forward to joining the men back on Grenada though I am unsure of what will happen in the future. Once we have thousands of certified pilots there won't be any need for me to overlook the development of mobile suits. Karn is already handling the ongoing pirate issue in the Asteroid belt so there wouldn't really be any place of action for me."

"Well you can still train future soldiers of Zeon by taking a job at Zeon academy. I think Garma would like serving under his older brother once he joins at 15. He's getting pretty serious about following you in the military so I think it would be good to oversee his development as a future leader of Zeon." I say as we both look to the sleeping Garma. Dozle seemed to do a fine job at it in Origin with his role as superintendent so I knew that he could do the same here, especially with his work at Grenada. Despite coming from a prestigious family as the Zabis, Garma proved through his hard work over the three years that he earned his spot through hard work and talent instead of sheer nepotism, which is why he was such a great leader on Earth. Who better to make sure this will continue to happen then Dozle? Besides I had another goal in plan, that by Dozle teaching during the same years as Garma's attendance that he'll be able to meet Zenna like in Origin and we can still have Mineva in the future. "If you'd like to wait until Garma reaches of age then there's always the Mobile Armor Project that is getting started under MIP. Plus the new ships of the line for the Space Force with the Salamis entering service at the start of the next year. I could always use a trusted hand on the Dolos."

"Gihren are you still going on about that hunk of metal. I really think we could better use our resources in other projects. You seem to be getting obsessed over this."

"The Dolos is a fine ship dammit! I will see it off the docks if its the last thing I do!" _'Why does everybody think its a bad idea. Sure it may have its problems but the Dolos is a supercarrier for crying out loud! I'm only asking for one superweapon! Just one!'  
_  
A few seconds after my outburst both Degwin and Sasro come out of the office while Kycillia makes her way in from the left hallway. All of whom have satisfied and triumphant smirks on their faces. "So I take it that we did well?" I asked.

Sasro responds with a beam of pride in his face. "Why don't you pay attenion and see for yourselves. We practically killed it out there with a landslide!" Dozle then raises the volume and sure enough a breaking news alert comes in with the subtitles showing that the election is over.

"Hello for those tuning in I'm Catherine Wong, and here at Zeonet we have just received word that the ballots are in and the referendum has just concluded to this historical vote. The people have spoken and Side 3 has chosen the Zabi family as the leaders of the Principality of Zeon. The vote which some Federation analysts predicted would be a close race, turned out to be a landslide as the Yes Vote won with a 69.7% majority and over a billion votes at 1,157,890,079 votes to the 502,348,792 votes of the No side. With a strong mandate and quite possibly the voter turnout for any election in human history, the people of Zeon have made it clear that they want one man to rule them, and that is Degwin Zabi. We'll continue extended coverage tonight with interviews of campaign officials on both sides as Zeon writes a new chapter in its history with the start of the Zabi dynasty."

"Garma, Garma, wake up! We won the election!" says Kycillia nudging Garma.

Garma wakes up from his nap and then looks at the results on the screen with his face coming alive and beaming of joy. "We won! You did it dad! You did it!" Garma yells as he rushes up to Degwin and gives him a big hug. We then started erupting into celebrations of having finally achieving the dream that we had pursued for so long. For at this moment, we are no longer the Zabi family, dedicated civil servants. We are the Zabi family, rulers of the Principality of Zeon.

Degwin then turns and addresses us. "Thank you my children for your kind support leading up to this moment. For while the people may have chosen me to rule, I could not have possibly come this far without all of you. Gihren, you have become a fine leader in these past few years and I have high expectations for your time as Prime Minister. Sasro, you've worked the hardest out of all of us these past few months in ensuring this moment could become reality. The referendum would've never been able to happen if it weren't for your effort and dedication in gaining the support of the people. Dozle, you are doing good work right now with the mobile suits and I know you'll rise far in the ranks in the coming years. Kycillia, you have become a lovely young women in these last few years and are the spitting image of your mother. To have achieved your position at such a young age shows just how talented and extraordinary you are. And Garma, while you may not have done much yet, I have faith that you will one day follow your brothers and sister and achieve many great deeds to come. I'm proud not just to have become Sovereign of the nation, but most importantly to be the father of such a great family." Dozle then comes out from behind and gathers us up in a group hug, somehow managing to get everyone with his large arms and immense strength. Its a nice touching moment to our family, for now I think we've finally achieved a sense of closeness that we have lost for several years. No matter what may come the day after, whether it be local issues or the moves of the vile Federation, we'll be ready. For we are the Zabi family, and we shall fulfill our duty to Zeon and see the Spacenoid dream to the end.

 **A/N: We'll guys, we won! I know its kind of expected for the Zabis to have been elected to power as heads of the Principality, but I think its a nice divergence from canon in that Degwin was able to receive power legally and through the popular will of the masses rather than usurping power from the Deikun faction. Chapter 22 will be the coronation with Degwin's POV and then we'll have Chapter 23 with the look into the activities of some familiar Feddie characters. After that its off to Act II of Gihren's Glory and the rise of the principality, leading up to the One Year War. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more. Sieg Zeon!**


	22. Rise of Degwin Sodo Zabi

**November 7th 0069**

If someone were to tell me in my old life that one day I would become the future heir to a fascist space nation, I'd have called them high and ran the hell away. Yet here I am as Gihren Zabi, in mere hours future heir to the Principality. Already I was now the Prime Minister of Zeon just like how Gihren was in the anime, Degwin having stepped down the previous week in order to later assume the title of Sovereign while I had a near unanimous vote as the new PM. In many respects I guess you could call us to be closer to Fascist Italy than Nazi Germany as Benito Mussolini filled his government with close relatives while Hitler had no posts for any of his siblings or cousins. Since the referendum its been a busy few weeks as we now have had to make the transition from Republic to Principality, the likes of which hasn't been seen on this level for three centuries since Napoleon took reign as Emperor of the French. Luckily Sasro has thought of this before hand in creating the exact style of government and how the Zabi dynasty would rule Zeon through its psychological and social influence. Everyone in the family has had their own say in how the Principality should rule since we will become the leading figures of the new nation. Out of all of us I think its safe to say that I've had the most influence, but that's more due to my knowledge of canon Zeon and the Neo-Zeon movements more than anything. Especially as how I've submitted several ideas directly for the cosmetics and aesthetics such as the uniforms of the military and royal family. On the concept art though I've had Cecilia help draw several different pictures as sadly like my last life, I'm absolute shit when it comes to works of art.

On the matter of Zeon rule we had approved a new constitution on the 1st with a referendum being met favorably by the public on the current state. Surprising there was a slight amount of greater opposition with the Yes vote being 61% to 39%, but it managed to pass nonetheless. What we've managed to create is sort of a hybrid form of Universal Century laws and ethics combined with several influences from the Prussian Constitutionalism of the 19th century. Basically on paper Zeon is still a very much democratic society with a parliament to pass the laws, several checks and balances, decentralized rule for each colonies, and a bill of rights for all of our citizens. Below the surface the matter was very different as the Zabi dynasty was able to get a large increase of power that stopped us short of becoming absolute monarchs with the various loopholes and royal privileges that we have obtained. Thankfully unlike canon, Degwin is more agreeable to playing the rules in public and we'll still go through the process which make it seem like we are a limited monarchy. The only times we'll probably abuse our powers is probably when its states of emergencies, covert operations, or implementing of mass reforms anyways. Just as the ancient Romans ruled with bread and circuses, so long as the people of Zeon are happy then they probably won't care. This is something I'll have to work on someday when I become Sovereign in order to limit the power of my descendants to prevent the rise of a true Gihren, but for now I'm content as I will need that absolute power in order to help Zeon win the war and lead productive lives in the near future.

As of right now its around 11:00 in the morning and we're about an hour away from the start of the coronation, something that will surely be the most talked about event since the start of the Universal Century itself. _'At least I nor any other members of my family will be committing fratricide against Degwin, you Marcenas hypocrites.'_ Even right now from the space of my office I can hear the millions of people outside the window, nearly all of whom cheering the name of Degwin Zabi, various other cheers for myself, my siblings, or Zeon Deikun being heard among the roaring crowds. Looking out the window it seems that all of Zeon has showed up for the coronation. In truth only around 10 million out of the 25 million within Zum City have showed up in the capitol district, still quite an impressive turnout nonetheless. In addition it was appearing that nearly 6 billion people were actively watching the coronation right now. Meaning half of humanity turned their gazes to Zeon among the stars. Something truly amazing that no singular event such as the Olympics, Presidential Inauguration, Royal Wedding, or any other type back in the 21st century could even come close towards.

At the moment I was within my office, or should I say new office as it was the one that belonged to the Prime Minister instead of Vice Prime Minister which I had recently occupied. Cecilia was with me and was helping to straighten out new royal uniform which I would probably have to wear with daily practice much like the European monarchs of the Victorian Era. The current uniform I was wearing, which would become the standard for all of Zeon in civil or martial service, is in most aspects a straight copy of the one that Gihren wore in canon. The few differences that I did have were minor in that my ampulets weren't so large and outlandish (thankfully I also convinced Dozle to get rid of his spikes on his shoulders) and my boots were more of a dark violet than a light purple. making it more of a design similar to that of the Black Tri-Stars. In addition I had on a black cape with a red interior which I would now have to wear for extremely formal events such as these.

Speaking of, at the moment Cecilia was tightening my collar and helping to straighten out the cape which was in a little bit of a mess. It wasn't exactly that I was incapable of dressing myself, but more of the fact that I always had trouble with formal wear and I would look like a little bit of a mess if I didn't have any external help. Really glad overall that I don't have to wear any ties for the rest of my career though. Cecilia is standing on my left side and like the rest of the staff starting today, was now wearing a Zeon uniform with hers being the exact same outfit from canon, the maroon and gold on her really bringing out a nice contrast with the bright red hair of hers. To be honest she actually looked kind of sexy with her bust showing the Zeon eagle nicely and great curves to boot. It was a good thing that she was focused more on my back at the moment so that I could fight back the slight blush forming on my face. _'Come on Gihren, keep it professional.'  
_  
Appearances aside, Cecilia was actually quite the mother hen as it turns out with her near obsessive neatness and fine attention for detail. I remember her once telling me in a conversation that much like myself she was the eldest of six with three sisters and a brother, a stark contrast to the Zabi mixup. I'm guessing though that's where she got her perks and such natural talent at organization and preparation thanks to caring for her youngest siblings, something I wish Gihren had developed before my insertion.

"Please stop with the faces, Gihren. You look quite dashing, actually." she smirked and adjusted my collar and smoothed out the cape.

"Sorry about that, I've never really been one to be comfortable with others taking care of my own appearance, even with my own mother. Truth be told its probably for the best as I would probably just have the cape fly off on stage without your help. You think it looks good, a nice fit for heir of the new Principality of Zeon?"

"It looks _regal_. The cape pulls this whole thing together. And besides, a Prince looks quite different from a Prime Minister."

"Dozle's not wearing a cape!" I retort

"Your brother is... too large for a cape. It wouldn't fit. And the cape fits your theme."

"I have a theme now?"

"Of course you do. You're a Prince. The next in the line of succession. You have to look like a leader. Larger than life. A commander." Well she does have a point there. If I'm going to be the new supreme leader of the Spacenoids then I'll need to look the part. After all whats the point of reviving a monarchy if you don't get to wear the cool stylish clothes to match with it.

"Well alright then. Now all I need to do is perfect the cape wave and I should be set."

"The cape wave?" Cecilia asks with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Yeah, you know, the cape wave. Well I don't think its the official term but that's basically what it is. You know how in the movies, shows, anime, where there's that one character who is either a major antagonist or hero and is one of those high and mighty nobles like my family. How they have a matching badass cape to boot that helps them with their entrances and exits in a dramatic fashion. Look, watch." I then moved back a few feet and made a striking pose. "Jorge Marcenas, you shall rue the day you ever decided to mess with Zeon!" I declared while then turning my back and doing the cape wave, only for it to fall flat on my head with Cecilia to burst into laughter.

"Oh no, whatever shall we do if it weren't for the great Gihren Zabi." Cecilia said with a bit of snark at her voice, still laughing at my embarrassment which admittedly wasn't anything to be worried about since it was just me and her in my office. Although to be honest I'm pretty damn sure Kycillia has some sort of cameras within this room and she'll probably go into hysterics upon seeing my mishap.

After I manage to get my cape sorted out, in comes Garma with a smile and his face being full of energy due to the big day for our family and for father. Garma's look was roughly similar to mine in design though he had navy blue colors with black boots and gloves. "Oh! Hey Gihren! Hi Miss Cecilia! Gihren, you look like a _superhero_!" Garma says in admiration though it just adds a little bit to my embarrassment. _'Thanks Garma.'_

"You're right, Garma. He does look like a superhero." Cecilia sat next to Garma on the couch. "Uh uh, Gihren. Heroes don't grind their teeth."

Yeah I was probably overreacting to the whole thing to be honest. Then again, part of the many mannerisms that I inherited from Gihren was his extremely short temper. While I never really had any violent outbursts like Sasro had on occasion, it was sort of weird since my insertion where I would manage to keep a level head in the most frustrating and serious of situations yet lash out at the most minor. Though it was far more relatively minor than anything old Gihren would do. _'Calm down, have to remember that she might be the mother of my children one day. Then again its not starting to sound like its a bad idea. Man I really need to sort out this whole relationship thing in the near future.'  
_  
"You're right, sorry about that. Just have to let it out sometimes. Hey Garma is everything ready outside?" I ask as I turn my attention to my baby brother.

"Yeah everything's fine. Crowds getting really loud out there but we do have half of Zum City in the capitol. Sasro is doing some last minute checks with some of the support crew while Kycillia is doing her job." Garma says with the last part clearly referencing her control of security, though Garma was too young and unaware of the full scope of what his big sisters career was. "Dozle's in a few rooms over and he's starting to get really sweaty and nervous."

"Commander Dozle has stage fright?" asks Cecilia with an eyebrow raised. It was a rather fair question as the few times the two had met with Dozle barging into my office, he was rather loud and boisterous with an air of confidence filling the area around him.

"Yeah, it's really weird but Dozle doesn't really like to appear in front of very large crowds unless its something less formal or he's not in the center of attention. I think its because of the fact that he likes being around his men and subordinates in the Space Force while he's uncomfortable with the general public. I can kind of understand since its something similar to what I have with most of the students in my school." Explains Garma. It actually kind of made since when I thought about it as Dozle was really casual and had a nice warm air around his family and men in the anime while struggling to be more firm in the eyes of the population. I suspect its a bit of a complex due to Dozle's size and figure since while many people loved our family, even a good number on Side 3 were scared of Dozle's brutish appearance with him giving off the air of a rather hostile person even though he was a softy at heart. Been trying to work on that but it seems that some old habits don't die hard with some members of the Zabis. _'Really need to get him hooked up with Zenna and fast.'  
_  
"What about father?" I ask.

"Father's sort of taking a walk through the capitol with a few people from the Royal Guard. I tried to be with him but he said he needed some alone time to think." Garma says with a small frown on his face, apparently disappointed at having been rejected by Degwin."

"Don't look so down Garma, I'm sure that your dad is probably just a little bit nervous and excited about what's about to happen. He is about to be crowned as Sovereign after all. I'm sure that even if it was Zeon Deikun that the man would be a bit overwhelmed by the occasion." says Cecilia reassuringly, with Garma brightening up a bit at the support.

"Probably best just to give him some space Garm, I remember being a bit the same way when I was elected as Vice Minister. I'm sure he'll come around." Having said that though I was kind of curious myself as to what was going on the mind of the great Degwin Zabi.

 **Degwin Zabi POV  
**  
Walking through the halls of the capitol I take in the time to reflect on my life, how after fifty-two long and hard years of my life its all come to this. From the slums of Munzo to the highest pedestal of the colonies as the soon to be Sovereign of Zeon. I bet you if someone were to make a movie out of my life story that it would probably do a killing at the box office. Then again its not like very few people in the Earth sphere, or in all of human history for that manner have lived the extraordinary life that I have.

I guess if you are to trace it back far enough then the story of my life would start in the small apartment complex down on Aldrin street on Side 1 where my childhood began. I was born in 0017 to a poor, but loving couple who were two of the original builders of the Munzo colony, having settled down once construction on Side 1 had ended and the great rush of migrants from Earth began. The first years of my life where just me and my mother and father, Yoshiyuki and Sarah Zabi. Unlike my rather my five children I was always raised alone as an only child due to the fact that both my parents were unable to conceive another kid, and we wouldn't have been unable to probably feed another mouth anyways due to our meager living. However my parents, bless their souls for having been long passed, where always a happy couple and took joy in our simple lives. On the contrary, no matter what happened I was never accepting of the conditions in which I had been raised. Call it simple greed, but whenever I looked at pictures of Earth, of large plentiful space and the rich living luxurious lives in a never-ending paradise, I stared back with the eyes of a hungry wolf, jealous of what the Terrans had that we could never afford. I guess that's what had started my ambition, to rise to the top and never look back on the life I had before.

At the age of 18 I was able to graduate high school, whereafter I had moved to the recently created Side 3 in order to get a job as a laborer in the shipyards, much to my parents delight of following in their footsteps. It wasn't as if I had wanted to do the exact same career as them persay, but that it was a role which I like many Spacenoids back then had the only area of knowledge then. For seven years my life went on and I was able to obtain a leadership role by becoming head of the harbor Union at age 23, probably due to my large figure and imposing authority that my children would inherit. It was after my first few months after leading the Union that I met my first love, Alice Williams.

The first time I laid eyes on my future wife, I knew that somehow I had to make her mine. Alice was in many ways the essence of perfection; a kind person with a warm heart and a striking beauty that could stun everyone within a room. We had met one day in 0041 when Alice had arrived at the spaceport, visiting her father. My father in-law was a man known as Robert Williams, a well to do Terran who was at somewhat of a high position in the Federal bureaucracy and the man in charge of the Munzo spaceports, essentially my boss. At first when Alice came she never laid eyes on me since I was nothing more than a lowly employee of her father's, to be fair though it wasn't as if anyone goes to the spaceport for sightseeing. Oppositely I could not help but take my eyes off her, it was hard not to with her slender body, bright red hair, and sheer elegance that was the living example of a proper lady. For most of the day it looked like nothing would happen as she simply stayed with her father and I was too busy managing the day shift with my coworkers. Then right as Alice was leaving, a freak accident happened where she got lost took a wrong step off a ledge and fell into a construction area where she got caught in zero-g, and as Terrans with no experience in no gravity, lost control and fell into a shaft which led into the center of the colony. Luckily I was near the area when it happened and I was able to get into a mobile worker (a precursor to mobile suits and far more miniscule in size) and ride down the sky of the colony, rescuing Alice in her freefall by catching her frail form in the "hands" of the mobile worker. Little did I know was that was the start of Alice having a crush on me for being her "knight in shining armor" and saving her life. After that day Alice started coming to the docks more and more frequently. At first there were several excuses related to the company, but over time it became more obvious that she came to see myself. After some months of getting to know each other we were able to go on dates and began to form a relationship as a couple. Even though those days were ones where I had little wealth and was a mere nobody in Side 3, they were some of the happiest of my life.

Eventually Robert found out about our relationship and threatened to fire me if I didn't stay away from his daughter, for apparently a mere blue-collar spacenoid was not "worthy" of his daughter, even though Alice constantly pleaded for our relationship to continue. Naturally I was incensed of the nerve of this Terran man who thought that I wasn't worthy of his daughter even though I was the sole reason she was still alive. Not wanting to give up so easily, I spent many time and resources trying to bring Robert Williams down, finding a weakness to exploit so that I could be with my one true love. Eventually with the help of a private detective agency, I was able to uncover a long list of tax fraud that Robert had been holding against the Federation, worth tens of millions of credits. One day I marched into his office and showed a copy of the forged tax records, if Robert did not allow me to be with Alice then I would release them to the police and he would spend 30 years in Granada (it was built as a prison in the early days). Having been blackmailed with what could see the end of his fortune, the man relented and I was allowed to resume my relationship with Alice uninterrupted. Later that day I proposed directly to Alice, so that we could spend the rest of our lives together and start our own family, something she said yes immediately. Though through the rest of her life Alice never found out about the dark side of her father, us two always keeping a distant relationship but never revealing the affair. It was also the beginning of what I considered to be the road on my more darker days in life, how I would use the information to threaten Robert in our labor disputes and would gain dirt on the other executives so that us laborers could live better lives. For despite the promise of a socialist utopia, the Federation was nothing more than a rich man's club.

After a few years of marriage life was going well, Gihren was just a young toddler and Alice was pregnant with Sasro, all was going well at the company and life was starting to get better within the colonies. Then one day my life would be forever changed when Zeon Zum Deikun walked onto our spaceport in 0046. The man was a recent immigrant from Side 2, having moved to Munzo in order to establish a new base to start his new Contolist movement that would soon revolutionize the colonies. One day Zeon came into our docks and held an impromptu rally during the lunch hour. For a long period of time Zeon went on about his ideals of Contolism and Newtypes, how we Spacenoids were the chosen of humanity and that our lives within the colonies would be the next stage of human evolution, the birth of a higher being. When I heard all this I thought that Deikun was nothing more than a hippie who probably consumed LSD on the side, yet during the whole speech I noticed how my coworker's were entranced by Deikun, eating up his every word as if Jesus Christ himself had come down to preach the gospel. This was for the fact that not only was Deikun a charismatic speaker, but he was a man who gave us Spacenoids something we had lost on Earth, hope. After the speech Deikun came down and approached me personally. Apparently one of the main reasons he was there was that he had heard of my strong leadership of what was the Side's largest labor union. Deikun had wanted someone like me in order to help act as a base of support in the future Social Democratic Party. At first I was tempted to refuse as I didn't believe Deikun would possibly succeed, but a small part of my heart told me that this man was a winning ticket out of my current status, that wherever I followed Deikun there would be immense rewards to reap and sow. So I eventually said yes to Deikun's offer and he welcomed me as deputy chairman of the party, at the time there only being eighteen other people, including Jimba Ral.

For many months I worked part time on the Deikun campaign, and by the end of it my hard labor had all paid off. Not only had the Social Democrats gained seats in the new Munzo Parliament, but they had somehow managed to gain a majority with myself representing the 3rd district. With my new career as a politician I quit my old job at the docks so that I could focus my full attention on helping to run the government. As the years went by Deikun entrusted me to greater power and I was soon able to become one of the leading figures in Side 3, my say having a strong word in the policy of the Republic of Munzo. Over time Deikun entrusted more power and responsibilities to myself, to the point where I had become his right hand man and only Jimba Ral possibly being of equal standing. That time in politics was also when I truly immersed myself in the corruption of the colonies. With Deikun wanting to keep a clean image for his millions of followers, he entrusted the more shady aspects of the party to me with an almost complete free hand to do whatever I saw fit for the well-being of Munzo. At first the illegal activities that I did were merely to advance the welfare of the people and move the government forward like I had been doing recently. However as the old Terran saying goes "Absolute power corrupts absolutely", I had entered into a true descent into the bottomless pit of the underworld.

Ironically the exact same crime which I would threaten my future father in-law with soon became a single part of a long list of various white collar-crimes that I committed over the years. Extortion, embezzlement, corrupt deal making, bribes, you think of it and I did it. Still no matter what I did I at least have some pride that they never verged into the lethal crime territory such as outright murder of innocents, those few men and women who I did kill being matters of state security to protect Side 3 from the Federation. Did this make me an absolute hypocrite? Yes, and its something I'm not afraid to admit privately. Everything I did however it wasn't for my own personal sake or for sheer greed of power, it was for the sake of my five children. Thanks to my side activities, along with numerous legal ones such as wise stock investments (including myself buying a majority of the Zum City spaceort stock) we were able to rise out of the lower class and become new money within Side 3, establishing the Zabi family as one of the richest spacenoid families in the colonies. Thanks to my efforts my children, and future grandchildren, will never have to know what its like to grow up in the shanty towns of the colonies or have to undergo hard labor for a low wage. Gihren and Sasro were able to graduate from university at an early age with their gifted minds, Dozle paying his tuition for the Defense Force academy, Kycillia entering into intelligence thanks to my connections, all of these were achieved thanks to my actions. Had I stuck to the "moral high ground", then my children would never be able to live what would later be called the Spacenoid dream, Alice would've had lived a meager life as a spouse to an engineer, never being able to receive the comforts I had showered unto her, and I would never have been able to get into such a high position of government to actually change the lives of the spacenoids through legitimate means. Machiavelli once said the ends justify the means, nowhere else can you find this to be true then the rise of the Zabi family. For a while everything seemed to be good within our lives, that nothing could possibly go wrong. Then tragedy stuck.

In 0055, the worst year of my life, my loving wife Alice passed away from cancer thanks to high exposures of radiation upon returning from visiting relatives on Luna. While the exposure to the radiation did ruin her health forever, she still could've lived if we had the same level of medical technology that Earth had, or the ones that Zeon is currently producing right now. Sadly no matter how much money I tried to throw at the doctors to save my loving wife's life, it was never enough without the proper care that a Terran could've received. After that things turned for the worse for our family for a year, I had settled into a high amount of depression and funneled my rage into my work at the government. This unfortunately started the great rift among my children as Gihren being the eldest did not know how to deal with his mother's death and turned away from all of us to pursue his own desires. Sasro started to go down the same road while Dozle was a scared and confused child. The worst of all was my poor little girl Kycillia, who would never be able to hold any memories of her loving mother whose traits she inherited so much. Eventually things got better when Naliss Baduin, an old childhood friend of mine came back into my life. Naliss was a women who in many respects was a completely feminine version of Garma. Both had the same purple hair, same gentle hearts and kind personality, same shy demeanors that made them so adorable, same everything. Naliss had heard about what had happened to Alice and months after her passing offered to help take care of the family while I was busy at work. Upon receiving this offer I immediately accepted due to the need to find someone, anyone who could help raise my children. While Naliss could never replace Alice entirely, she became a second mother and watched over my four children as if they were her own flesh and blood. The kids started to become happy again, even Gihren was warming up to her. In 0057 Naliss confessed to me her feelings of love that she had been having since the first time we met. While at first I was hesitant to return them, I eventually accepted as Alice herself had asked of me before her death that I could possibly find love again so that I could be happy in her absence. One thing led to another and we were married later that year. Life returned to normal and it seemed that the Zabi family would soon be able to get over our tragedy, then in 0058 Naliss announced she was pregnant with Garma.

The first months of the pregnancy were a blissful time as we all waited in anticipation of the new addition to the Zabi family. Kycillia herself was the most excited upon the prospects of her becoming a big sister. Then on April 4th, 0059, Naliss went into labor with Garma, though she was only six months pregnant. With Garma being premature at such a young age we had to rush to the hospital in order to save both him and Naliss, Zeon himself helped in a great matter by using his influence to reserve the highest quality room for us. For hours the doctors worked to try and save both lives. In the end Garma had been able to come out with few grave complications and he was placed in an incubator safe and sound, the same could not be said for Naliss as she had lost too much blood and for the second time I had to watch my wife die right in my arms. Despite the knowledge of her incoming demise, Naliss never shed a tear or wailed in sadness, instead she made me promise to look out for Garma, to keep him safe and made sure he lived a good life with his half-brothers and half-sister. Those were her last words before her passing, and then my life turned to hell again.

Thankfully I was able to handle the situation much better the second time and did not immediately retreat to my work or delve into alcohol upon Naliss' passing. Miraculously while the children were also depressed upon the passing of their stepmother, they never took the blame on Garma and raised him alongside them as if he had the same mother and them. Unfortunately Naliss' passing was also the end of what little family unity we had. Everyone eventually grew up and went their own seperate ways in their lust for power and civil service. The only two who did not share that conviction were Dozle who had a good heart on him, and Garma who grew up a slightly naive but innocent boy. No matter what I tried to do it seemed that my efforts had failed and that the Zabi family would ever be such only in name, merely six strangers living in one household and nothing more. The only time we ever were together was solely to plot on how to take control of the government or advance the interests of the family in the Deikun regime. Instead of taking responsibility I only went with the flow and failed to guide my children on the dark paths they were taking. Some political scientists say that the 0060's are the prime of the Zabis, yet for the first seven years we were somehow even worse off personally than when we had barely a credit to our name. Then on New Year's of 0067, the Zabi family would change forever when Gihren would enter the hospital in a comma, only to wake up a changed man.

"Father there you are, the ceremonies are about to start any minute now and we've been trying to find you for quite some time. We wouldn't want the first Sovereign of Zeon to be late to his own coronation now would we?" said Gihren, who speak of the devil, entered into my view upon my thoughts reflecting of him. It's quite ironic actually, how the young man who I once thought would be the one to drive the final wedge of our family, who was once on the brink of darkness, would actually be the one person who would make us whole again. To this day I don't know what happened to Gihren in his comma. Maybe he did get closer to God, maybe he finally saw the error of his ways, or maybe the brain damage flipped his entire train of thoughts. Whatever the case I am glad for I could not be any prouder of Gihren than for the work he has done the past two years. Honestly after today the Federation can take my life and I wouldn't care too much, for I know that I can leave Zeon in good hands.

"Sorry about that Gihren, just trying to collect my thoughts. Its not everyday that one becomes a monarch of their nation after all." I say. Despite the fact that this event is something that we Zabis have been planning for several years and we are the main hidden reason behind the referendum, I guess its only know that the realization of what's about to happen settles in.

"That's okay, I don't thank anyone can blame you. I can hardly imagine how my future coronation will go like. What sort of state I'll inherit Zeon from, how the family will be like then, the responsibility I shall undertake as Sovereign."

"Seeking to dethrone me before I even get crowned Gihren? Quite the ambitious one aren't you?" I say in jest, though Gihren seems to take this statement seriously.

"No, no no, father! I would never want to take the throne by force! To be honest I'm hoping that you'll step down several decades from now at a nice old age. I wouldn't want it to take place if you had died early or I had usurped it wrongfully." he says with some concern. While it may seem to greedy of him to desire the throne in the future right now, I honestly don't mind as I intend to make Gihren my heir as the eldest child anyways. Most of what we achieved has been thanks to his efforts alone so I don't see why not.

"Relax Gihren, I was merely playing with you. After all who knows what the future holds for all of us. However should Zeon be relatively stable a decade or two down the line, I might just retire and let you do all the hard work while I sit back in the palace and enjoy the rest of my days in peace. I do hope though Gihren that by that time you would at least find a nice wife and a son or daughter to act as the next heir of the Principality." I say with Gihren turning his head and looking away nervously at the last part. Sadly no matter how much success they may find in the real of civil service, my children seem to have no luck in the realm of love. At least Garma looks promising with the dozens of girls at his school who he claims to confess their love for him on a weekly basis. _'Poor child, and its only going to get worse for him after today with so many fangirls wanting him to make them his princess.'_ While I shouldn't worry too much at this point with all of my children being in their youth, I do tend to worry that nothing may change for them in the future.

"I'm glad you have so much confidence in me father to be able to succeed you after such a reign. As for the second part I am working on it, something can come about one day." Gihren says while somewhat lying about the last part. Then again I have noticed him get rather close to his secretary, Cecilia I believe her name was, over the past year. At this point I don't think anything has come out as of yet, though its entirely possible that sparks could fly in the future. I do find it somewhat worrying that Gihren would form a relationship like that, it would be bad press for us and something Marcenas would just love to exploit. To be fair for the girl though she has far more qualities than simply looks and she has managed to form the closest bond my eldest has had of the opposite sex. _'Whatever, Gihren is a grown man and I'll let him handle his own personal affairs. Besides it probably wouldn't be the worse situation for the family, could do wonders for Gihren's personal life.'  
_  
"Alright there's no need to focus too much on the future when we should be focusing on the here and now." I say with Gihren subtly sighing with relief that I had steered the conversation into a new direction. "I guess I should be going now so that we can start soon. I don't want this to be some pompous affair that Royals would usually pull like those damn Brits do. Better to get it over with now so that we can get back to work and Side 3 can have their Principality."

"I couldn't agree more father." Thus we begin walking down the halls to the front steps of the capitol building where the coronation will take place. Its my great hope that I may be able to experience this a second time, with myself walking behind Gihren instead as I watch him take the reigns of power.

After some time waiting for the preparations to take place, we officially begin the ceremony as I walk out of the capitol building and down the steps to where I shall be crowned. Upon my entrance millions of Zeonites erupt into wild cheers with loud shots of "Degwin! Zabi! Sieg Zeon!" marking the immediate noise level of the vicinity. In many ways its a mirror image of my inauguration as Prime Minister, though on a far more grander scale to be sure. Flags of the new Principality wave boldly in the air with the red white and black in prominence along with a sea of green among the crowd for the new uniforms of the Principality. The sky is also booming with the new sound of what could be mistaken as a jet flying by, although unlike the TIN Cod's of the Federal Air Force, these are brand new Zaku-I prototypes of the Zeon Space Force. It seems that Sakamoto wishes to make an impact upon the people with the Zeonic brand, something that is quite succeeding as for several moments the people take their attention off myself to look in awe of the Zakus. During all of this the Zum City orchestra plays a special rendition of Gustav Mahler Symphony 3 in D Minor. I actually learned a few days ago from Kycillia that Gihren got the idea from some anime in the 1980's. While it is quite a humorous origin I have to admit that the song fits with the music being an symbol of the grand start to my reign. As I make my way down the final steps the stage comes into view as are my children who are seated to the right and left of the makeshift throne that was made using wood from Side 3. To the right sits Gihren and Sasro, while to the left sits Dozle, Kycillia, and young Garma. All of whom wearing their own custom royal uniforms which match my bright red uniform and black cape to boot.

I make my way to the throne where I sit down and wait in anticipation as Gihren comes up to me with the royal crown on a maroon pillow in his hands. The crown itself is rather simplistic in style as it follows the ones of ancient Rome with a golden leaflet crown instead of the fancy spherical ones of the modern European royals. Gihren comes up and kneels before me while offering up the crown, doing his duty as the last Prime Minister of the Republic of Zeon. I hold the crown in my arms and nod to Gihren who steps aside as I put the crown on my head in a dramatic fashion and then rise up for the first time as Sovereign. The orchestra then starts playing the Zeon National Anthem and the crowd erupts into cheers. "SIEG SOVEREIGN DEGWIN SODO ZABI! SIEG ZEON!"

After a minute of standing back and basking in the cheers of the people, I walk up the podium and begin my first official speech as Sovereign. Its one that Gihren helped me write with and its not something that will take too long or is over dramatic, but fits for the occasion.

"My friends... No. My family. That's what you are. That's what you always have been. I am humbled by the faith you have shown to me and to my children. You have all taken a great risk, and you ALL shall be rewarded. This is the dawn of our great success! You feel proud of how far we have come, but that is a pale shadow compared to where we are going. The Zabis have been granted the tremendous burden of leadership, it is but a foundation that will lift us all up to greater heights! These Colonies are not the end of our story. These caves of steel are but a stepping stone to other things. Today is the first step towards a better world. And I call on all those that can be counted, all of those who care, to stand with us. Together, together we will move mountains. Together we shall overcome the vast challenges of the void and soar to greater heights that mankind has never thought possible. Together we shall fulfill the Newtype potential that has been promised to us by the great Zeon Zum Deikun, and we WILL inherit the legacy of humanity's greatness as the Principality of Zeon shall be its guiding hand in writing down the next chapter of human history.

For far too long have we Spacenoids suffered in poverty and squander in our very own homes. We have watched as the elite of Earth stood by and did nothing to protect our welfare as they placed the homeworld over the needs of humanity. For many decades we were lost, lost in the great void and in desperate need of guidance. We found that much needed guidance in the wise words of Zeon Deikun. Together with Deikun we started to take the first steps to self-reliance. By looking in our hearts we were able to discover the great Newtype potential that lies within all of humanity, how we may be able to evolve into a higher plane that will ensure the beginning of a golden age of humanity. Over these past few years Side 3 has taken charge and is now the greatest and most prosperous of nations not only within the Sides, but within all of the Earth sphere. Economic miracles have ensured boundless growth which has seen Zeon's industry soar to new heights. For the first time we Spacenoids have not only survived in space, we have started _living_! The quality of life within Zeon is the highest in human history and it is something that until recently many people have only dreamed about. It is all thanks to you, the citizens of Zeon that this all has become possible. For without your innovation, creativity, hard work, and struggles; all of this would be but a distant dream that we could never image coming within our grasp. I am truly proud to have spent the past twenty years of my life in service of such a great nation, to be able to serve the people of Zeon and act in our defense from the ever present stagnation and degradation within the Federation. Let us stand together and work towards making the Spacenoid Dream not only a living fact, but a reality for all Spacenoids as the Universal Century begins now!

For today my brothers and sisters, today is the birth of a new order. One that will see to the needs of the people first and foremost, one that will protect the Spacenoids where Earth has failed. Let today be known as the birth of a new era, one of greatness and miracles, one where generations will look back upon this day in the history books, and look in admiration for the beginning of the tremendous accomplishments to follow. For today is the birth of the Principality of Zeon. A state like no other in history for it shall be the first nation  
where the ideals of Spacenoid Populism shall be its foundation. A state which exists solely to serve the welfare of the people, not one that takes for them in the ever present manner of the greed and corruption of democracy. As Sovereign of the new Principality, I and other members of the Principality shall act as a guiding hand to prevent and destroy the stagnation which has plagued the Universal Century. By becoming ruler of Side 3, it shall be my ever great responsibility to ensure that the legacy of Zeon Deikun, my great and close friend, may be secure and that his work may continue to go on for future generations. For it is the duty of the Zabis to serve the people and humbly serve we shall. I will not rest until every citizen of Zeon will be able to experience the dream that was promised to their forefathers upon the beginning of the exodus to space. Only until all of us have achieved our Newtype potential, may my job be finished and the prosperity of the nation secure.

Rise people of Zeon! The Universal Century is at hand and it is our great duty to see it to completion. Join me! As we spread among the stars, spreading the word of Zeon Deikun and forging a new and glorious revolution for the age to come! Let us look calmly into the void, and shine a new light into darkness that shall last until the end of time! Long live the Principality and long live the legacy of Zeon Deikun! Sieg Zeon!"

"Sieg Zeon! Sieg Zeon!"


	23. Future of the Federation

**November 7th, 0069. Lhasa, Tibet. Jorge Marcenas POV**

"Sieg Zeon! Sieg Zeon!"

"Dammit Ronan, turn that fascist crap off! I can't take a single second more of Degwin and his pompous fat ass!" I yelled.

My nephew Ronan did as I complied and turned the TV off, leaving us alone with silence in the oval office of the Executive Mansion. My wife Grace and the kids were visiting my mother in-laws today so I was alone with Ronan who worked as a member of my staff during the week. Today we had both decided to take the time and watch the coronation of Degwin Zabi, call it morbid curiosity, or simply getting to know the enemy, but what happened was par along the course of what I expected. The Zabis trying to arrogantly show their so called superiority in front of the Earth while the braindead masses of Side 3 drink the kool-aid and follow the Zabis word for word like the good little dogs they are.

"Uncle, I have to ask, why didn't you intervene earlier and try and stop all of this? Wouldn't it be better if the Federation showed its force by putting a stop to this referendum business and denying the Zabis a chance to permanent power?" Asks Ronan, curious to know why I of all people apparently did nothing to stop the situation.

I sighed at the question which practically everyone close to me has been asking for the past month and I take a big swig of wine before responding. "Ronan my boy, believe when I say that your father and I tried every single trick in the book, both legally and covert, to put a stop to this. The problem here is that the Zeon managed to not only beat us in the courts, but that damned bitch Kycilia has Jamitov wrapped up in her finger with how much she's making a joke out of Federal Intelligence. We're getting closer to infiltration each day, its just going to take a while with their tech and the amount of control the Spacenoids give the Zabis. Why anyone would want to freely live in an outright authoritarian state is beyond me." I say as I take another large swig of the glass of Brandy besides me.

"If Zeon is managing to outwit Jamitov with each operation why can't you simply sack him and reshuffle the whole department? There are plenty of qualified individuals who could take over and I'd rather not have to worry about Hymen plotting to usurp control from us one day. Just being in the same room with the bastard gives me the creeps." Ronan says with a slight shiver down his spine to show how much of an effect Jamitov Hymen had on him. Can't really say I blame him though, I don't think the man's own mother would even give him the time of day.

"Once again my dear nephew, if only it were so simple. Had I done so at the beginning of my term then I could just be done with it and I wouldn't have to look behind my back every second. As it is right now we're in too far deep with Jamitov to simply get rid of him. The man knows about Laplace's Box and I wouldn't doubt for a second that he would use it against us just like those Vist terrorists have been doing for the past seventy years. To be fair on the man he has been helping us immensely in these past few months. While our infiltration into Side 3 has produced horrible results, with our network practically down the drain right now, he has been doing a decent job at creating the counter-information system on Earth and the other Sides. At this moment the Zabis are probably investing billions here on the planet to try and bring us down while they put plants in the other sides to brainwash them with the Contolist Crap and start dancing to the tune of Degwin. Given enough time we'll be able to counterattack against Kycillia and ensure that security is maintained throughout the Earth sphere. Once we have reached a certain stage in preparations, then we can begin the downfall of Zeon, all starting with isolating the fascists to the moon.

"It isn't going to be that easy to get the rest of the Earth sphere on our side though. I've spoken with some of our allies in Side 1, what there seeing within the colonies is a situation that will come ruin Earth down the of our products within both the colonies and Earth are soon being overwhelmed by those from Zeon with the top 10 largest corporations within Side 3. Instead of Earth controlling the intraplanetary trade its Zeon who now sets the conditions for the Stock Market and the means of production. The people of the Sides are increasingly becoming more Pro-Zabi with some activists wanting to even join Zeon. Hell there was a Zeon Rally just last week in Side 1 with a million people and the Zabis didn't even plan the thing! If we don't take control of the situation soon then the entire social order of the Earth sphere will collapse and the Earth will be left to ruin as we Terrans have to answer to the whims of the Spacenoids, when we are the birthplace of humanity! If it wasn't for the hiding of Laplace's Box Uncle then the Federation wouldn't last a single day into the next decade. What are we to do?"

I could tell from just looking at Ronan's face that the rise of Zeon was clearly bothering him. While I will probably retire sometime within the next decade, Ronan will be the one who will have to inherit the family role in leadership for the Earth Federation. What's even worse is that when he eventually becomes Prime Minister is the day when Gihren Zabi will probably usurp control from his father and become Sovereign. That is of course if we just step aside and allow the Spacenoids to take control of the Earth Sphere from the Federation where the power rightfully belongs. Not on my watch!

"Calm down nephew, this isn't the end of the world and it certainly isn't going to happen anytime soon. Zeon and the Zabis may be all high and mighty now with their economic and technological growth in recent years and the establishment of their precious Principality, but all good things must come to an end. Eventually our researchers and corporations will catch up to Zeon and will soon outproduce them with the greater natural resources of the Earth and the cooperation of the other sides against Zeon. Work is already being done with our corporate allies on Earth to counterattack Zeon in the upcoming trade war and a resistance is being created. Already the entire Earth is being mobilized against the Zabis. After all who will they side with, their space overlords or their own kin who represent them in the parliament through democracy? Meanwhile with the economic growth of Side 3, the other colonies have been degrading as a result. Degwin Zabi may go on about cooperation with the Spacenoids all he wants, but at the end of the day he is only in it for himself and for Side 3. Next year will be the start of what many economicists predict to be the beginning of a Great Recession for the other Sides. With production and the academia moving to Zeon, the other Sides are deprived and as a result will enter into widespread poverty and decay. While the situation is unfortunate for us in the short term due to a loss of jobs, in the long run this may be a benefit as we can use the economic monolith of the Zeon economy to rally the other sides against Zeon. After all in times of need who better to turn to then the Federation? With no other outcome besides an obvious choice between Space Nazi Germany and the Free and Democratic State of their Terran cousins, the Spacenoids will give greater rule to us and we will help guide them to the Universal Century as it was envisioned by your Grandfather Ricardo. These silly notions of Spacenoid Populism shall be extinguished with the Earth Federation reigning supreme as it was meant to be. Without cooperation from the Sides and an equal footing in tech, Zeon will cave into anarchy and decay while the people wake up and turn against their fascist overlords. Then the Earth Federation shall come in and all will be right again."

Ronan still seems skeptical at my plans as he gives my an awkward glance that tells me that he wants to believe me but can't see it going forward. He then shakes his head and replies back, "While that may be a good plan on paper, your plan is relying on the fact that the Spacenoids will turn against the Zabis, including the population of Side 3 who seem to worship them like cultists to a prophet. Despite Zeon Deikun being crazy as a loon people from all over space still followed him to his death and he was right about Newtypes. If Side 3 stays loyal to the Zabi regime then what then? After all the Zabis are self-proclaimed servants of the people."

At that last sentence from Ronan I laugh out loud in a great bellowing while Ronan looks confused as he did not purposely try and tell a joke. In the process I accidentally stain my own suit with the brandy in my hand which causes Ronan to get up and try and grab a towel, but I dismiss him. "Servants of the people?! That's a good one Ronan, maybe you should give up your job and try and become a comedian in Vegas."

"But they have been implementing a great amount of reforms for Side 3 in the last year and their economy is at the highest point in history. What do we have to offer them when they apparently place their trust in an absolute monarchy who produces results?"

"Ronan you don't actually believe that crap that Zeon serves the people do you?" Ronan shakes his head, after which I continue. "This whole 'Servants of the State' bull is nothing more than mere propaganda to help the Zabis into power. Even without the Principality's formation, the Zabis would have still found a way to obtain absolute control of the means through manipulation of the Spacenoids minds and control of the media within Side 3. After all despite his talks of a commitment to democracy, Zeon Deikun served as Prime Minister for 24 years before passing, no one in our family has even served for that long. This route is only a more direct method through covering up as little of their corruption and control and instead filling false lies that a monarchy will be the benefit of the people. Gihren may make constant speeches about how he will protect democracy and he's not a Nazi, but this is straight up fascism! Hitler did literally the exact same thing in the 1930's through the exact same methods. State control of the economy to get the industries to run, giving out welfare programs to the masses to make them dependent on the state and trust you, and creating a cult of personality that will make them obey your every word. Within a couple of years the Zabis will shed their humanitarian disguise and reveal their true colors for the all the world to see. They've already started a campaign of racial cleansing with the promotion of the 'Newtype Ideal' and the idea of Newtypes as the next stage of evolution. All you need to do is twist Zeon Deikun's words with false truths and then you will have the rhetoric of Spacenoid supremacy and the subjugation of Earth and us Oldtypes. You can already here it right now in their speeches about Zeon taking leadership of the Universal Century and beginning the journey to claim the galaxy. If that isn't fascism then tell me what is?!

Soon the people will see the Zabis for what monsters they are. They will see that life under an absolute monarch isn't all roses and sunshine that its cracked up to be. How they just signed away their rights to a tyrant and his children. The Flanagan Institute itself has shown that a large majority of Side 3 is still Oldtypes. Once they see how Degwin and his children are going to create a new world for a superior race and how they've been abusing the democratic system and the people like toys, they will be pissed. Their will be riots on the streets and a grand revolution shall commence to overthrow the Zabis and restore the natural order. It is only a matter of time my nephew. Once we have achieved infiltration of Side 3, then our agents can help speed along the process and ensure the end of Spacenoid Power once and for all! It's a shame really that Jimba Ral wasn't successful in his mission. If that did happen then we could've continued the rule of the Federation unopposed. In the end I guess its better this way to end the legacy of Zeon Deikun before further generations are plagued with his ideals."

While Ronan now seems to understand the path I shall take in the future, he still has some uncertainties clearly on his mind. "What's the matter boy? Don't you see this is what we need to do?"

"No I understand what your saying uncle, it all makes since in a certain light. Its just that there's one more factor that remains. Even in the most perfect scenario where we are able to cause the downfall of Side 3 and restore total Federal control without the emergence of a war, there will still be one part of Zeon Deikun's legacy that cannot be destroyed with a single action. The Newtypes. No matter what you have to say about them, its a fact that they exist and they are here among us. Without anyway of knowing how Newtypes come about, they will keep multiplying in space until they try and start a domination of the Earth sphere with the Oldtypes under their rule. Even if Degwin Zabi falls, someone else will take upon the mantle of Zeon and fill his place. How are we to solve the Newtype problem?"

I smile in response as this is one issue I've got perfectly under control. "Don't you worry a thing about the Newtypes Ronan. I'm already working with Jamitov to see that they will not become a problem for Earth in a near future. With the proper time and resources, we will be able to eliminate the Newtype Problem before it begins. Next year will be the beginning of it, the beginning of the end to Contolism and the eradication of the Newtype ideal."

 **November 10th, 0069. Luna II. Johann Ibrahim Revil POV  
**  
"As you can see General Revil the Magellan is the finest ship to ever exist in the history of the both space and naval warfare. With Ten duel shell canons, six internal missile launchers, and fourteen AA batteries, the Magellan will have the heaviest firepower within all of the Federation. In addition with the 1.5 meter thick titanium hull and sublight engines so powerful that it can reach the moon and back in only eight days, it shall rule space as supreme with no threat, pirate or Zeon, stopping us." Explained a rather excited Commander Wolfgang Wakkein as he took myself on a private tour of the EFSS Magellan with our current location being the bridge. Though I couldn't help but notice the addition of the Principality of Zeon as a threat in his last sentence

As head of the 0070's Armament Reinforcement Plan it was my job to oversee the implementation of the Federation's latest modernization program for all branches of our armed forces. Since there hasn't been a single war since the 0022's besides the occasional small scale insurgency on Earth, our military has become rather complacent in recent years with soldiers being issued forty year old weaponry, cadets fresh out of the academy who act on the same level as a Shipman Recruit, and a staggering amount of corruption in some of our local garrisons across the colonies. While my colleagues at Jaburo have put me in charge of this in the hopes of matching Zeon's latest rearmament, this was something that I had been advocating for several years and honestly wished for something sooner besides the apparent threat of Zeon in the minds of many people on Earth. When I entered into the Earth Federation Forces, they were the most elite fighting force in the history of mankind, having seen through the beginning and end of the Unification Wars while our officers were made up of veterans from the Third World War. Joining the Federal Forces was a matter of pride and an honor to Earth. Nowadays it seems like most enlist just to receive a stable job along with those who can't keep up with the latest tech of the times. A rather sad state but something I'm hoping to turn around in the next few years.

Unfortunately my mission has met constant roadblocks with interference and resistance from both High Command and the civilian leadership in Lhasa. It seems that all General Buchanan wants to do is simply upgrade our existing gear to fit the new methods and technology of the times. It's merely nothing more than taking a 0030 Explorer and refitting it to have the same performance as a 0066 Titan. Despite my constant pleas of the innovations that Zeon is starting to introduce with its new gear, ships, and the rise of mobile suits, they have all fallen on deaf ears. Command thinks of them nothing more as science fiction toys while Parliament only agreed due to the apparent Zeon threat, not wanting to spend more and instead invest in economic revitalization and welfare. Even worse is that I haven't found a single soul to understand my fear of the mobile suits. We have on our hands a weapon that can revolutionize warfare forever and yet they treat it like nothing more than a toy. I can only hope that they may see the light before its too late.

Still this is a first step and a small amount of progress if any. Hopefully I can be allowed to see Zeon's ships one day so that I can compare the new classes that they are creating at Side 3 to the Magellan and Salamis Class. Not that I don't have faith in Wakkein to get the job done as he does seem to be one of the more promising men in the latest batch of officers. It's just that my fellow German can't seem to grasp the idea that space warfare is far more than just the big gun doctrine that the Magellan and Salamis expose. His overenthusiasm for the ships, fine as they may be, isn't certainly helping a thing.

"While I do have to agree that the Magellan will make for a good flagship of the Fleet commander, I am still worried about its armament. For one thing where are the railguns for the Magellan when Zeon is claiming to install at least one on every single ship." I ask much to Wakkein's ire.

"General, while a Railgun may be a useful weapon, it is something rather unnecessary for most engagements since it uses up so much energy and by implementing one, we would have to get rid of at least two internal missile launchers along with three of the canons for additional add-ons. However due to your _heavy_ insistence along with some encouragement from command, we're allowing both the Magellan and Salamis to add on Railguns as an optional armament. Not that we'll need that much firepower in my opinion with a nuclear armament along with the already destructive power of our 478 mm shells, and numerous Apollo missiles to boot." _'Well at least the man has some sense'  
_  
Deciding to push the topic a little too close with Wakkein's apparent heavy distrust and somewhat Xenophobia of Zeon, I then decide to bring up the same topic that has earned me more than a few scoffs and dismissals at Jaburo to say the least. "Commander I must ask how our AA batteries would perform and if you've run any test against mobile suits. While the Magellan would most certainly triumph against any contemporary in close combat, it has little to no direct method of preventing a mobile suit such as the Waff from coming up to the broadside an firing a shell inside the hull." After I said that I began to realize how futile my efforts were once Wakkein began fuming over the mentions of any possible weaknesses from Zeon to his precious Magellan, with him then proceeding to shake his head and look at me as if I were some crazed madman in the First World War who advocated the idea of tank usage in 1914.

"Look General..." Wakkein says as he puts a shoulder on me as if to lecture me even though I outrank him by three grades, "I've heard from some of my friends in Jaburo about how you've been itching and complaining about mobile suits all year in order to get both the Army and Space Force to use them, I get it. After all this is Zeon we're talking about with them probably wanting to use it to take over the world. Yet what you don't realize is that Admiral Karn along with his fellow Spacenoids in Side 3 are simply dumbasses for implementing such a concept. Mobile Suits just can't work in this day and age when you've got radar, all we have to do is spot a mobile suit in space and shoot it down with a tracking missile along with swarming it with a Sabrefirsh squadron. You've already got Starfighters and Carriers for this sort of thing, no need to have giant robots enter the battlefield when all will do is get destroyed by our superior firepower. Why don't we let the Zeon focus on wasting what little resources they have while we focus on superior firepower." Wakkein adds with a pat on my back as if for reassurance, once again even though I am clearly his superior with three pay grades above.

"It's a shame Commander that you are one of the many bright officers who are unable to adapt to new doctrines and technology produced by other forces." I say with Wakkein looking as if I insulted his mother. "I would have thought that you would be more open to the idea since you seem to have a clear hatred for Zeon and their government."

"No wait just a damn minute _General_. I think that I can count myself among my colleagues as the more aware of the dangers that the Principality of Zeon poses to the existence of the Earth. How can you not be? They're a fucking fascist state that is trying to take over the monarchy for Christ's sake! I am also heavily aware of their petty attempts to rearm and modernize which is exactly why I asked for this post at Luna II when I could've had a nice and cushy desk job in Jaburo. It still doesn't change the facts that at the end of the day a Zeon Mobile Suit will never have what it takes to bring down a Magellan, much less a starfighter. We shouldn't even need to copy the Zeeks technology anyhow as we're already doing enough as it is with the Minovsky Reactor in the engine room along with the brand new computer system here in the bridge, which I might add personally probably has some sort of Virus straight from Kycillia Zabi to shutdown every single Federation warship when we will face them in battle. Unless I get an order from Fleet Admiral Cruz himself that I am to produce mobile suits, I will stick to my assigned duties and see to the production of Magellans as doctrine supports. Is that clear enough for you General?" Wakkein says with a slight snarl at the end of his speech.

Figuring out that engaging in any practical debate with this man is a lost cause, I decide to drop my attempts and move on the conversation. "Forgive me Commander, I was neither attempting to criticize your efforts nor dispute your knowledge in Space doctrine. I was merely attempting to engage in some constructive dialogue of mobile suits but I can see after your fine expertise exactly how mobile suits perform. Would you mind if we continued the tour as before? I ask though with hints of sarcasm in my earlier 'apology to Wakkein's ignorance. Thankfully the man is none the wiser and smiles at his apparent 'victory' against the oh so wise Major General Revil. With his attitude shifting to its old state by going on about the capabilities of the Magellan.

I simply don't know what I'll do if this continues. No matter how hard I try to bring our forces up against this foe that Jaburo is so sure that we are to face in the future, everyone refuses to cooperate with me and simply rebuke's my ideas simply because of the fact that they go against traditional methods. Do they simply not see how much I am attempting to prevent our military from being stuck in the mindset of the old Anno Domini warfare which they are so adamant on staying. What's even more concerning is the attitude of Wakkein and many other officers I have met about Zeon and how they are so sure that we will go to war soon.

Don't get me wrong as I am far from a fan of Zeon as it gets. Many times I have spoken out against them, how their current government will eventually be doomed to collapse thanks to the absolute control given to one family and the potential to allow a dictator to rise. How they have somehow managed to beat the latest minds on Earth in every science and technological field known and will soon dominate us if nothing is done. Or in the case of earlier how their militarization is far from what is necessary under the production of the autonomous sides and that they are preparing for war themselves. Yet despite all this it doesn't mean that I am so gun-ho about entering a war no am I as xenophobic as some of the Terrans in High Command. While an absolute monarchy is one that is destined to give way to the rise of a demagogue and the subjugation of the people, it is clear that somehow the Zabis are managing to outperform against Earth and the other sides, and that these reforms have benefited the Zeon people as a whole, which is why they are so loyal to Degwin Zabi. All other aspects of Zeon's sudden rise as a techno juggernaut and turning into a military state while concerning, is only one path to take and one that can be steered away with reasonable diplomacy from our top diplomats in the State department. That's not to say that it isn't possible that Gihren Zabi is planning to conquer the Earth, its just that if we are to deal with Zeon we must look at this from all angles besides war. For if warfare commences among the sides in space, potentially billions will die to the nature of the colonies which will allow them to get caught in nuclear crossfire or in the largescale battles between fleets. That is why the Federation needs to wake up and see the possibility of mobile suits along with Zeon's other armed innovations. So that should the worse come and war commences, we can end the war as quickly as possible with few casualties on all sides, and a victory for the Federation.

After the argument our tour proceeded rather quickly, if somewhat awkwardly at first. All that was left was to observe the Magellan powerup with the new Minovsky reactor, and then we were done. Tomorrow would be the tour of the Salamis, something I hope that can match to the performance of the Magellan if the rumors of Zeon's new Musai and Gwazine-class ships bear any truth to them. If there is one bright side in all of this is my observances that the ships can be outfitted with new tech, meaning that one day we could switch production to MS-based carriers.

As we are walking out of the side entrance of the Magellan, Commander Wakkein quickly snaps to attention in a crisp salute at the approach of an incoming officer. At first I am confused as I am supposed to be the only superior officer on the entirety of Luna II since Wakkein was in charge of the base with Rear Admiral Tianem earthside. Once I focus on the figure at view my confusion soon turns to curiosity and distrust when I see just who this offer is. Rear Admiral Jamitov Hymen, head of Federal Intelligence. Not wanting to act rude to a technical superior (Jamitov only answered directly to Fleet Admiral Cruz and the Prime Minister) I saluted as well to which Jamitov copied back.

"Ad-Admiral Hymen! What an unexpected pleasure to host you within Luna II. I wasn't aware from any of my men that you would be arriving today." Said Wakkein with his previously confident bravado turning to fright and nervousness. Not that I can blame him as anyone that even knew a shred of Jamitov's information would be wary of the man.

"Yes Admiral, what exactly is the purpose of your visit today? I was told by Jaburo that I would be the only one who would inspect the construction of the Magellan and Salamis to the Space Force. Is this some kind of replacement?" I question with Wakkein taking a deep gulp, apparently not wanting to have to entertain Jamitov no matter what his opinions of me were.

"At ease Commander, General. Jaburo didn't send me any orders, this is something more of a personal trip of my own accord. Consider it somewhat of a surprise inspection more than anything. While I am aware Revil that it is your job to oversee Rearmament, I wanted to oversee how our new ships-of-the line are doing myself. With my sources getting glimpses at Zeon's new Armada I wanted to make sure that our Space Force in turn is no lesser in quality. We wouldn't want that would we Commander?"

"No-NO SIR!" Wakkein exclaims.

"Commander if you don't mind I'd like to talk with the good General in private for a few minutes on orders from Jaburo. However if you don't mind I'd like to take a tour of the Magellan as well once I'm done."

"Yes sir!" Wakkein says with a mix of relief and fear over Jamitov placing his focus on me, yet having to spend time with him to show him his work. _'Just what are you planning Hymen?'_ Jamitov motions me over and we walk together to a more isolated part of the shipyards with the closest personnel being more or less 100 meters away, that is with the exception of Jamitov's two guards bearing the mark of Intelligence Agents.

"Rear Admiral what exactly is the meaning of this?" I demand with impatience.

"Well Revil, no groveling or shaking in fear? I must say I'm impressed. Not many officers can attribute to that behavior in my presence, as the Commander over there just approved."

"I don't care about your position since this isn't a job for espionage and as such does not lie in your department. So I would like an explanation if at all possible so that way I can resume my work without any interference." I say with Jamitov letting out a light laugh of amusement afterwords.

"Well Revil you got plenty of spunk and attitude for your age, that's something more than I can say for most officers straight out of the academies nowadays. Let's just say that we both have the same agenda and I would like for us to cooperate in the near future so that we can achieve our respective goals and help preserve the Federation in the process."

"I'm a Major General of the Army, not some damned spy." I retort.

"Oh don't worry Revil, you won't have to do any work within Federal Intelligence. I want for you to work with Federal Intelligence. Or to be more accurate, to allow myself to be your patron within the Federal Forces."

"And why exactly would I do that? I place my career on my service to the Federation and the defense of the people of Earth and the colonies against any hostile threat. I will not in any way allow the politics of Jaburo to take priority over that."

"Don't worry Revil, I'm not asking you to try and help me overcome my political enemies. I merely want to help you with your job in rearmament. Specifically to try and begin the true modernization of the Federal Forces, starting with mobile suits."

"You actually want to push for production of mobile suits?" I ask stupefied. Out of all the higher-ups in Jaburo, it was Jamitov Hymen who would become the first to believe in my doctrine of mobile suit warfare.

"Why yes I do. After all I am one of the few within the Federal Forces who has actually bothered to see what the Zeon are up to, and make no mistake that the Zabis are preparing for war against the Federation. War to conquer the Earth and proclaim Spacenoid Supremacy. As we speak Zeon is creating weapons of both mass destruction and conventional warfare which will change the face of war forever. Power armor, mobile suits, mobile armor, beam weaponry, Newtype drones, supercomputers, stockpiling of nuclear weapons. And that's only scratching the surface of it. If Jaburo does nothing right now then the Zeon will be able to overrun Earth in a matter of months and we will all be powerless under the rule of the Zabi regime."

While I had a feeling that Zeon was militarizing rapidly for war, it seems that Jamitov has not only confirmed my feelings but shown that things are of an even worse state ever imaginable. How High Command could possibly hear all this from the head of Intel and yet still go on with their lives is absolutely beyond me. However to say that I have been convinced of Jamitov's sincerity for my aid is far from the truth. While it does seem that the man is visibly worried of the Zeon threat, beneath all that lies a false persona that is somehow looking to warp the situation in his favor. I must tread carefully.

"I am aware that Zeon is currently making gains in the industrial-military complex. However despite no matter how much I try, High Command will simply not listen to my pleas and continues to ignore reality. What is it Rear Admiral that you can do differently?"

Upon asking of my question Jamitov's face lights up with a wide grin, as a fisherman would have when he has made his catch. "You see Revil, while you have been denied multiple times in the past that has all been because of the fact that you have acted as a lone wolf. The more you persist the more you isolate yourself from the higher-ups as the radical that doesn't know what he's talking about. But I, I can help you get what you want. With my influence and resources alone I can make sure that the creation of a mobile suit project may start without any oversight or scrutiny. With my agents in Zeon I can get a first hand glimpse of what Zeon's finest are producing, and then ship the blueprints straight to you. Prime Minister Marcenas though not a friend, is a close ally of mine and I can make sure that ideas become policy and policy reality. On your own General nothing will be achieved and the trend of stagnation continued. With my support, you can oversee the full modernization of the Federal Forces into an organization the world has never seen before. One that can destroy any dissent in the Earth Sphere and bring about the end of the Zabi regime should war come. All you have to do General, is simply cooperate and receive my aid so that you may launch your crusade and create the professional military that the EFSF and the other branches were meant to be. What do you say Revil? From one patriot to another."

With Jamitov metaphorically stretching his hands out for a possible alliance I knew that I was in a crossroad. Continue on my own and trust on the my fellow men and women of uniform to listen to my word, or gain a powerful ally to ensure that reform and modernization is done personally. This is definitely a situation that one could call being stuck between a rock and a hard place and I don't like it one bit. My gut tells me no but the rational side of my mind is persuading me to go for it. If nothing is done now then the status quo will continue and should a war break out with Zeon we will surely lose. If I move forward then I might be able to save the Federation and make sure Democracy survives into the Universal Century. _'Do it Johann, do it for the good of the Federation.'_

"You have my interest." I reply after several seconds of contemplation.

Upon my positive response Jamitov grins wickedly at his accomplishment. "You have chosen widely me new partner. Let us begin a new start that shall ensure the survival and prosperity of Democracy for generations to come. For the Federation!" Jamitov exclaims as he reaches out his hand.

"For the Federation." I say as I return the gesture. _'Why does it feel as if I have made a deal with the Devil?'_

 **A/N: And...that's a wrap! Some pretty big things happening in this chapter. Marcenas is delving slowly into Jamitov's camp as he begins to see Zeon as a true threat to the foundation of the Federation, specifically its rule by the Zabis. Possible consequences to come in the future. At the exact same time we see everyone's favorite Terran, General Revil, being the noble patriot that he is in being the only sane voice in Jaburo by trying to bring it up to speed. Finally we have Jamitov who is up to no good as always and has certain plans for Revil in the future, along with a hinted involvement in Newtypes on Earth. Just what exactly is Jamitov planning and how will this affect the eventual war? Find out on the next time of Gihren's Glory!**


	24. Trouble in Tokyo

**November 12th, 0069. Mount Kilimanjaro, Earth. Third Person POV  
**  
Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the seven peaks of the world and in the past a natural wonder that was the peak of beauty on the African continent. However once the Universal Century began, it all changed. While environmentalism and the protection of the Earth were what had caused the UC colonization and creation of the Sides, it seemed that the very same reason was being forgotten in the eyes of both the Terrans and Spacenoids. Among the Sides existed a sparse minority who cared for the planet Earth. While no one certainly wanted humanity's homeworld to implode, most simply didn't care for the situation any more as the colonies were their home and the only environment they care about were the walls of steel. For a time appreciation of the Earth began to grow again with the rise of Zeon Deikun and his Contolist ideal. Unfortunately his untimely passing and the rise of the Zabis who placed more emphasis on colonial self-sufficiency and extraterrestial colonization started to turn Contolism into an obsolete and outdated theory. As for the Terrans who resided on Earth, most were too caught up in their daily lives to give a damn about the planet besides the few movements that rose up now and again. In their eyes the solution was simply to export the vigrant populace to the colonies, thus reducing an already decreased burden on mother Earth that began with the replacement of fossil fuels with fusion energy. This caused corporate and federal interests to exploit the environment to their own gain in a highly hypocritical manner, no one simply caring. Two chief examples of this were the butchering of the Amazon with Jaburo, and the construction of a Federal base on Kilimanjaro, its sides scorched and scarred by the introduction of humanity's carbon footprint. Unbeknowst to many, Kilimanjaro was a place where human history was being shaped on a daily basis, for it was the home of Federal Intelligence, the lair of Jamitov Hymen.

Deep within the bowels of the mountain lied a room closed off to all but the most secure personnel. It was a meeting place where a secret cabal would come together and plan for the security and control of the Earth sphere. As of right now two occupants were currently in the room. Rear Admiral Jamitov Hymen, Rear Admiral of Federal Intelligence and a member of the Federation's security council. Standing next to him was a middle-aged Caucasian sporting a buzz cut and wearing a night black trenchcoat. This man was Walter Simmons, soon to be appointed Secretary General of Interpol and the secret right hand man of Jamitov Hymen. Together these two were some of the most powerful human beings within the Solar System.

Before the men was a screen displaying multiple broadcasts of the Earth sphere. Various scenes flickered between the channels such as coverage of the newly-risen Zabi dynasty, Alex Mitchum's new Augmentation technology, a political discourse on the subject of Newtypes, economist reports of an impending recession, talk of deals between Earth's various corporate interests, and an inside piece covering on Murasume Labs.

Shifting attention away from the monitors, Jamitov turned to his subordinate and began to address him. "Your appointment to Interpol should be finalized within the week. I've already discussed matters with President Schultz."

"I take it he was agreeable?" asked Simmons.

"Oh yes, most certainly. When I mentioned his covering of the electoral fraud in Germany's federal elections last year, he was so willing it was almost pathetic. A few months after your appointment, Frederich Schulz will 'retire' due to failing health. Once that is out of the way we shall have one of our own take his place. Ensuring your permanent position and complete control of the organization."

"The current unrest within the Earth sphere. It's intensifying to the point that we may not be able to contain it." pointed out Simmons.

"Why contain it? Let it spill into the Sides and the Earth, let there be chaos and disorder sown throughout the entire Earth sphere. In the end Marcenas and the rest of the lot will beg us to save them." remarked Jamitov smuggly.

"I've received reports of the rise of insurgencies and terrorist attacks taking place all over the world. The movements are rising within Africa and the Middleast as we speak. The most disturbing aspect is that our informants have uncovered that there is no connection to Zeon. None whatsoever."

"I can't say I'm surprised. Along with Zeon, the peasants on Earth are finally awakening to the full effects of the Universal Century. It isn't an issue however. The death of the separatist movements on Earth will serve as a warning to the colonies that dissent will not be tolerated."

"Mmm. I hope your not underestimating the problem. The rest of the Federal leadership may not abide by this a quietly as you think. Intelligence indicates that Buchanan is on the move. It looks as if the Army is making moves to ensure that they have the Marcenas support should a rift form within the Federation."

"A bunch of pretentious old men playing at running the world. But the world left them behind long ago. We are the future!"

"We have other problems." Informed Simmons.

"Zeon?"

"Our assets and resources within Side 3 have been dropping like flies since Kycillia Zabi formed the OSS. It's gone to the point that our reach within Zeon is minimal at best. I suggest that switch tactics from infiltration and usurpation to the isolation of Zeon with cooperation from the other Sides. My remaining assets are on standy and the few critical sleepers we have shall fulfill their orders. I'm more concerned about Flannagan and the Newtypes though. If uncontained the spread of Newtypes may contaminate the Earth sphere and sow anarchy throughout."

"Our neurochem corpus is starting to catch up to theirs. And their...ethical inflexibility has allowed us to make progress in areas they refuse to consider."

"The Cyber Newtype Project?" asked Simmons.

"Among other things. But I must admit that I am somewhat disappointed in the lack of progress in our mobile suit production."

"The Gjallarhorn Project should be operational soon. Franklin Bidan is currently undergoing preperation and we should see the first prototypes for the MK. II Guntank within six months. My people will continue to report on his progress. If necessary we shall commence plans to terminate Zeonic's program." Jamitov grinned at that. While there were many major and minor setbacks within the past few years, thanks to Zeon no less, it looked as though things were more or less on schedule for the endgame.

"We've had to endure much you and I, but soon there will be order again, a new age. Aquinas spoke of the mythical City on the Hill. Soon that city will become a reality, and we will be crowned its kings. Or better than Kings. Gods."

 **November 23rd, 0069. Side 3. Adam Jensen POV**

I never asked for this...Okay I did agree to it but I never asked for this in the first place. To live the life of a spy.

Originally I wanted nothing more than to be a simple cop. Spending my days cleaning the streets of Side 3, protecting our colonies from threats both within and without. It was something that my adoptive father did as one of the first generation Munzo police, a group of exemplary men and women who put their lives on the line to ensure order and stability in the chaotic days of the first migrations to space. After graduating from the academy in the top of my class and getting a job on SWAT with the Zum City police department, or ZCPD, it seemed that my life for the next fifty or so years was decided. The first couple of years provided just that, with plenty of action and the satisfaction of saving lives from the scum that lived within the walls of the colonies. Of course life doesn't always go as planned and there will always be unexpected surprises. In my case I got the worse won of them all.

It was over a year ago that my life completely changed. On September 16th, 0068, my unit was performing an operation against the Drovinsky Cartel on the outskirts of the colony in a sweepup operation to take down the crime syndicate for good. While I had mixed feelings of the Zabi family as a whole, my greatest admiration for their time in power would have to be the hard war on crime that Degwin Zabi has waged since his time as Prime Minister and now rule as Sovereign. Crime had officially gone down throughout Zeon by 44% and most organized networks were on the way out of the Zeon for good, thanks to the efforts of the local police departments and State Security. While ops like these were expected to come with danger and casualties, it was a risk that we all signed up for and we all accepted so long as the rule of law won at the end of day. However this operation would not be like the others, far from it. Intel had been sketchy from the start considering we were supposed to be busting in on a meeting of Drovinsky in his Lieutenants in what was supposed to be an abandoned warehouse for colonial supplies and light security on the premises. Yet when the operation had started there were multiple discrepancies such as the fact that the Drovinsky's were armed with military grade weaponry and were swarming the place like flies. Eventually after a long and bloody fight I was able to head to the warehouse with some of my squadmates were we were going to either arrest Nikolai Drovinsky, or kill him if he resisted. When we got inside the warehouse it was dimly lit and Drovinsky was nowhere to be seen. When the lights turned on we were greeted with a dreadful sight, a Federation Guntank, fully armed to the teeth and visor glowing bright red, targeting us for execution.

After a few seconds of tension the Guntank went into operation and started shooting its turrets and canons at all in sight, killing most of my squadmates while the rest of the SWAT unit was either wounded or fleeing the scene to try and call for backup. Eventually it was just me and the Guntank as a game of cat and mouse began with the Guntank cruelly chasing me around the docks, toying with my life like this was all one sick game. Unfortunately the Guntank caught up and instead of outright killing me, picked me up like a ragdoll in a sadistic manner and started throwing me around like some a toddler would with their toy. I was thrown towards an ammunition crate where luckily I still had some sense standing thanks to adrenaline along with landing next to a box full of rocket launchers. Using the last of my strength on nothing more than adrenaline and pure will, I lifted the rocket launcher and fired towards the cockpit of the Guncanon, killing its occupant inside. Sadly my story did not end on a happy note there as right at the time I fired, the Guntank did the same and hit the ammunition crate, causing an intense explosion. The resulting explosion threw me across the room and tore some of my limbs out while blood was pouring like a fountain. After a few seconds of pure agony, I drifted into darkness as my subconscious took over, having accepted the death that was about to come. Except I didn't die, and instead would be reborn anew.

A half a minute after the explosion Sec agents arrived along with medical personnel where they found me bleeding out. I was immediately stabilized while unconscious and was sent to Deikun General on an Emergency flight. According to the doctors the operation took several hours and there were a few times that my heart stopped. Thanks to what many would call a miracle, my life was somehow saved and the immediate danger out of the way. Yet while I would not die I would not survive as all my limbs except for my right one, which was barely holding on, had to be removed with sever nerve damage throughout. In any other normal situation I would have been on life support until they decided to unplug me. Yet apparently fate had other plans as one very special doctor happened to be working out of the hospital and was ready to begin what could possibly become the most revolutionary program in medical science since the cure of cancer. Doctor Alex Mitchum, the father of augmentation.

Apparently at the time as I would later found out, Zeon State security and the Defense Force had commissioned for the beginning of a project of weaponized Augmentation, to create the first generation of Augmented soldiers and spies to serve and defend Zeon. While Mitchum's augmentation technology is now available to the public of an affordable price to those in need, none of it would have been possible without the funding and backing of the Zabi family and the Department of Defense. This was simply a repayment to the Zabis by making sure the best tech for Augmentation would go towards defense, in return Mitchum would get his funding to support the poor masses who for so long had to rely on lesser forms of prosthetics or had no access to any whatsoever. The project, Project Daedelus, was meant to start in the coming weeks with volunteers already lined up from both the Defense industry and law enforcement, then I came along and Mitchum had his first perfect lab rat. A Zeon police officer severely injured in the line of duty and desperately in need of Augmentations to save his life. I later asked my parents if they were informed of the operation at all, and they said that while they were informed of what was happening and what the process would fully entail, they still gave their consent anyways as it was at the time one of the few processes that would save my life and restore some, if any function of what I had before. With the go ahead Mitchum and his subordinates went to work and began the process to create Zeon's first super soldier, every new Augmentation that I had recieved being a high level prototype and the first of its kind. The surgery was an immense success with my body surprisingly proving to be one of the most compatible with Augmentations yet. After three days of being in a virtual coma I woke up in a virtual shock as where flesh used to reside on my limbs, there now existed Titanium alloy, with numerous other Augmentations transplanted into my spine and internal body. To say that I was dissatisfied with my current condition at the time was a gross understatement as I screamed at the horror of what happened to me and even tried to tear my limbs off, somehow believing I could get my real ones back. The hospital staff was able to sedate me and later under immense restraint and the shutdown of my limbs, I was greeted by Doctor Mitchum himself who calmly explained my predicament and how I would be able to adjust to my new life with my "advantages". It took some time to calm down and once I started listening to the doctor I began to realize that while my augments were something that I never asked for, they were what kept me alive and they were the tools that I could use to get payback on those who had tried to murder me and killed my comrades, the Federation.

Later that day a surprise visitor came when Kycillia Zabi herself entered into my room. However Kycillia didn't come to wish me to get well as she wanted to see for herself the results of the surgery, and to recruit me into State Security. At first I was hesitant as while the Augmentations were intended for the Intelligence program and they were what had saved my life, I was a cop first and didn't have any place in some sort of secret war between Earth and the colonies. Then Kycillia decided to reel me in by revealing the truth about the Drovinsky Raid. The real reason why it was such a fuck up was due to the fact that Federal Intel head Jamitov Hymen had been secretly supporting Zeon's crime syndicates since the beginning of the year in order to sow chaos and disorder among Side 3 to make sure that our growth would be halted for Earth to catch up. Drovinsky received millions of credits, weaponry made straight from Jaburo, and the Guntank that put me in this mess with the bastard who was driving it having been one of Jamitov's men who was on loan to Drovinsky. My unit just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time as they would've sent Marine Special Forces or Security Black Ops if they had found out what had actually been going on in that district. Any previous resistance I had put up dropped as soon as I saw the files directly proving the Federation's involvement. It was right then and there that I decided to plunge myself into the rabbit's hole and become a part of the hidden underworld of the Earth sphere. I would work outside of the law that I upheld so dearly before and would instead become an agent of Zeon, performing treason against the same Federation that i had sworn an oath to protect at my graduation at the academy. This wasn't for blind patriotism or out of a simple desire for revenge. Instead it was a duty to make sure that no one else would suffer the same fate that I did on that dreadful night. That no more innocents would die in this sick twisted game between the two worlds. That Zeon's people would receive the protection that they deserved.

After fully recovering my injuries I was officially discharged from the force and started my new career as an Agent of Zeon. The past year had been quite a journey with the first six months being a test of my new Augments, while the latter was a period of intense training to perfect my role as a soldier on the front line's of Zeon's hidden war. Last week after the final tests I was made as an offical agents, Specialist Adam Jensen. Then came the handing of my first assignment three days ago.

 **Office of State Security (OSS HQ). 3 Days Ago**

With a small stride in my step I calmly walk into the office of one of my many superiors in the newly-renamed OSS, Lieutenant Commander Jefferey M'Quve. M'Quve himself was sort of infamous throughout the organization as he was well known as Kycillia Zabi's loyal lapdog and one of her confidants who carried out her will within the organization. M'Quve himself didn't really leave the best impressions and he seemed to act like one of those snotty aristocrats that Feddie propaganda portrayed the new Principality as full of. That's not to say he was horrible at his job as the man was competent and had a decent track record, rather he was just that one coworker who stuck out among the rest and acted like they were superior to everyone around them. According to what my fellow Specialists had to say, is that the real reason M'Quve had risen so high in the ranks was because he was one of the few who would do everything that Kycillia Zabi asked of them without questions. Something which could either make for a valuable subordinate to Kycillia along with a pain in the ass to the rest of us in Kycillia's quest to micromanage State Security. Despite this I didn't allow my bias and feelings to come into play as M'Quve was not a person who's shitlist you wanted to be on, besides I had dealt with far worse in the Force.

"Lieutenant Commander sir! You wished to see me?"

"Ah yes, Agent Jensen. Do come in and take a seat." M'Quve said as he polished a presumably rare Chinese vase on his desk. The man had a fetish for antiques from Earth's classical period that only added to his aristocratic image. Personally I didn't care too much as I wasn't a fan of art. "Agent Jensen do you have any idea why you are here?"

"I presume that it was to have a nice conversation about the Astros loss last night to the Comets sir." I sarcastically comment. Despite my rather relaxed appearance I was a bit worried on the inside as a meeting with M'Quve of course meant that Kycillia Zabi had to be involved. It's not like the man had much personal interest in the lives of those around him in the Agency.

"Very funny Agent Jensen." M'Quve remarked dryly. "The truth of the matter is that today we will be discussing your very first assignment in the field." I perked my head up at the mention of the next stage in my career. While my near death experience at the hands of the Guntank left some...unpleasant memories to say the least, I've been itching for quite a while to start my work as an agent. Both to get back at the Federation and to get a deeper look into what the hell went on in the shadows of the Earth sphere.

"Commander, no offense but is it really your duty to be giving new agents assignments?" I ask.

"Not particularly Jensen. Usually I couldn't care less about what you Specialists do in your spare time besides getting the job done. However you see you are a rather special case. After all you are the very first of our new line of Augmented soldiers, something with which Lady Kycillia looks forward to with great anticipation, especially since our work will partly determine the future of warfare in both the Army and the Marines." 'So that's the reason, bastard.' To be fair I should have really known all along that one way or another it would've come down to my Augmentations. It was extremely hard trying to get used to them when everyone around you shoved the fact in your face.

"Commander if that is the sole reason that I am here then would it not make a difference if I received my debriefing from Kowalksi?"

"Relax Jensen, just because we are looking forward to the results of your assets does not mean that you will be receiving any special treatment nor shall that make your assignment less important. In fact you may have one of the more high-ranking jobs of the new Specialists. Your mission, which you will choose to accept, shall be to deploy down to Earth three days from now and become inducted within the Pacific cell of our Terran operations, specifically within Tokyo, Japan." M'Quve says while handing me a file with the details.

 _'Japan, huh.'_ Well at the very least it's not some boring surveillance job on one of Zeon's politicians. Being Earthside would bring many opportunities for advancement within State Security and will get me several direct routes from which I can enter the Federation. "Sir won't Japan be a bit of an issue to infiltrate? After all not only will my Augs be in plain sight but I'll stand out like a sore thumb for being Caucasian and not Japanese." It wasn't like I really had a problem with race as my past SWAT unit was very diverse with a few men of Japanese descent. It was just that while the colonies had gotten rid of the old archaic notions of race, Earth still clung to them with most nations being ethnically homogeneous and ethnic prejudices existing throughout Terran society. For while an Arab man can walk out among the streets of Zum City and not get a second glance, he would be treated like an alien species if he set foot in Europe or North America.

"If it is the concern about your Augmentations being visible then I would not worry too much as your role is simply for infiltration and sabotage missions, not having to require a large presence within society. Doctor Mitchum is also researching synthetic skin at the moment so you could use those later if it becomes available. Also I would not worry too much about being Japanese as Japan is surprisingly diverse nowadays in addition to the high amount of tourism on a daily basis. So you shouldn't face any immense difficulties in the field." That was a relief, though I perked up a bit at the mention of possible synthetic skin in the future. Something of which I'll have to ask the Doctor in my spare time. 'Just one step closer to being human again.'

"Are there any long term objectives that stand out or is this simply an assignment to help establish the Japanese branch on Earth?" I ask.

"In terms of your mission on paper, it will be to simply perform any tasks that are required of the Tokyo department. In longetivity however, your main objective is going to be an infiltration of Federation East Asian command and overlook the Newtype experiments that we believe are taking place within the region. While our we Zeon naturally seek to achieve the next stage of human evolution, whether they be through natural or artificial means" M'Quve said with the latter word indicating an emphasis on me, "The Federation seeks to destroy that work and regress the advancement of the Newtype ideal. We've already got reports of massive witchunts and persecution from our civilian sources alone so it's not unlikely that Jamitov would shy his hand away from Newtype experimentation. Section IV has taken to creating the Underground Railroad in response which should be in operation within next year. You'll find a more detailed brief on Terran affairs, specifically those of the East Asian region, once you reach Earthside. Unless you have any more questions Agent then take the file and prepare for departure. In three days you shall appear at Aldrin Interplanetary with your mission beginning at the spaceport. Dismissed."

I take my que to leave by collecting the intel files on the desk and then heading out the doorway. M'Quve goes back to polishing his vase however before he does the man has some final parting words. "Agent Jensen." M'Quve lightly shouts while I have a foot in the door. "While I personally don't care for you and I consider Daedelus to be an unnecessary use of resources, Lady Kycillia seems to think otherwise as she has invested much interest and resources into you. When a member of the Zabi family does such a thing it is unwise to greet their kindness with failure."

I snort in amusement at what appears to be M'Quve's method of making a threat. I didn't know if this was either a genuine concern for my performance in the field or if this was merely a way to make sure that I knew that Kycillia Zabi was his direct boss, thereby reaffirming his power and status. If it was the latter then this was certainly a rather pathetic attempt at doing so. "Is that a threat Commander? Cause you should know that failure is never an option in my book and I am just as dedicated to the state as you are."

M'Quve gives a smirk in response though I can tell by his eyes that he was expecting for me to quiver. "Not at all Agent, merely just a bit of performance incentive."

"I'll be sure to give you a souvenir from Earth when I come back." I finish while I'm walking out the door. _'In pieces.'_ I thought.

 **Present Day**

I exit the cab door and give it a light shove after bringing out my luggage. Once the cab (In actuality an OSS personnel transport) had left I began to stare at the structure lying before me, Aldrin Interplanetary. Having been constructed as the first major spaceport within Side 3, Aldrin was the heart of Zum City in many ways as hundreds of thousands were in transit through the spaceport everyday with tons of goods being shipped out to the other Sides, the moon, and Earth. Once I went on a school trip with my fourth grade class and I remember how large and grand it seemed in my childish mind. Today Aldrin put that one to shame as the spaceport had gone under major revisions in the late Deikun, and later Zabi administrations with Aldrin becoming the largest and most modern spaceport of the colonies. A living testament to the strength of Zeon.

Gathering what little bags I will need for the trip to Earth, I start to take a step and then hesitate. Should I enter into the spaceport then my old life as Adam Jensen, former SWAT elite and officer of justice will be gone. Instead I will operate in the shadows, in the eyes of those on Earth I will become a terrorist who will seek to bring down the Federation. No doubt in the future I will be forced to commit acts questionable to my morals in order to uphold duty. Yet if I am ever to get any justice, if I am to ever reveal the truth that the Federation is withholding from the Spacenoids, to give them a chance to live free of oppression, then I must walk this path.

Putting all doubts aside for now, I calmly make my way through the masses to make it inside the Spaceport. Besides the implementation of new tech and enlargement of room to add new spaces such as restaurants, first aid stations, cargo holds, etc; the most notable difference of the changes to Aldrin Spaceport was the heightened security that only the capitol could rival. As part of the National Security Act, Kycillia Zabi and the OSS were given free reign to handle domestic security as they saw fit and interfere in the usage of public infrastructure to prevent the rise of new threats and make sure terrorist attacks like the Jimbajacking never happened again. This led to the transformation of Zeon into what many in the other Sides liked to call "a police state" with the heightened surveillance and increased involvement of the law in daily lives. This was apparent within the spaceport as there were multiple terminals and long lines of hundreds of people were body scanners and metal detectors worked together to prevent the smuggling of contraband. Bomb dogs were regularly patrolled in different sections of the port to sniff out explosives in the luggage. Cameras were everywhere watching the every move of the people inside, completely outfitted with thermal, x-ray, infared, and nightvision sensors (with multiple hidden ones probably stored in places to catch those who somehow managed to pass the sensors). In addition to the dogs, regular patrols of TSA personnel in full body armor were roaming to apprehend any threats that arose and provide first response in the case of the attack. While the increased security made things a bit of an hassle in time, work was efficient and not a single incident had occured in the past three months besides a lunatic who tried to stab his ex-girlfriend with a knife, only for the same man to be taken down with a stun round by a sniper from 300 yards away.

Apparently though not everyone had my thoughts as one man who was standing a few meters away complained rather loudly in his phone. "I'm telling you Frank you should never come to Zeon. The colonies sure are nice and all but it is absolutely hell to get through the damn airport. I've had to wait for two hours just to get through the gates and the entire time they were scanning my body and shit while they're probably taping my calls. It's absolute bullshit to invade my privacy, I mean what the hell do they think that I'm some sort of terrorist. I've got to have a meeting in an hour and there's no way I'm going to make it at this rate." The man then shifted his attention towards me when he noticed my listening in. 'Though it wasn't hard as everyone could hear for kilometer.' "What the hell do you want creep? Get lost!" I would've retorted on any other day but I needed to make it to my flight so I just left it at that. In a bit of poetic justice though the same man would be surrounded by a TSA patrol a few seconds and then taken off to questioning for his presumably hostile aggression and casual mentioning of the word terrorist in a crowded spaceport.

Personally I didn't mind too much of the new changes to security. While I didn't see the full effects before my leaving of the force, these new measures were already helping to drastically reduce the number of cases we had to follow with customs and made sure that no one on Zeon would have to live in fear of a terrorist attack. I remember once from watching a documentary on terrorism on how a group of nineteen Islamic Extremists from a radical organization called Al Qaeda once planned to strike the World Trade Center and Washington in an effort to strike a blow at America and the increasing globalism which would lead to the Federation. Fortunately for the thousands of lives that would have been loss if the attack succeeded, one of the attackers foolishly dropped his concealed handgun at the gates of Washington Dulles which lead to a shootout and the other airports in America shutting down which lead to the capture and death of the terrorists before the took off. Dozens of lives were lost but the actions on that day prevented the loss of thousands of lives. Looking back on it however I now realize just how foolish America had been back then. The CIA had failed massively in the hunt for Osama Bin-Laden and while they had bits and pieces of intelligence on the attack, they had absolutely no clue of what was to come. In the final situation where Intelligence fails, you must rely on the security checks that you have in place to ensure that lives are saved. If it wasn't for the stupidity of one man then thousands of lives would've been lost and America, perhaps the entire world would have changed on that day. But that did not come and life went on. With Zeon such a scenario would never come near to happening.

After a few minutes I finally arrived at my destination which was the Security Hub on the first floor. Walking in I was flooded with memories of the precinct as both gave similar vibes with the rapid activity within the room and the cold, guarded vibe that was in the air when dealing with crime and maintaining order. I made my way up to the center call desk where the secretary was busy making typing on her computer. I cough a bit to get her my attention. "Hello sir, welcome to Aldrin Interplanetary Security. Is there anything I can help you with?" The secretary said in a professional manner.

I whip out my Intel ID to state my business, "Derek Haas, OSS. I'm here to see a Pietro for an escort to Hangar 33." I state with a voice of authority. The badge displayed my picture but was both an authentic and a fake as it was an authentic OSS badge but had a false identity and kept the fact hidden that I was an Aug. My real ID was hidden in my left breastpocket and we were instructed to only present such to figures who had authorization. Hangars 30-40 were a select area within the spaceport that was reserved strictly for important Zeon ships that had to deal with the government, Space Force, or OSS, restricted from all access by the public.

Upon the revelation that I was with the OSS, the secretary produced a flurry of commands on her computer, presumably telling her superiors of my arrival and the need for this Pietro to show up. A minute after that a middle-aged Caucasian strode in and addressed me. "Agent Haas, I'm Pietro Volskya with customs. May I see your ID for a quick scan?" The man asks while he brings up his tablet for the task. I comply and instead of the fake ID I give him my real one for clearance. It takes a few moments to complete the task but the man seemed please as he motioned me over. "Agent I'm going to have to ask you to follow me to Hangar 33." I then go into motion following the customs agent, while a few civilians in the room give us odd looks for the exchange but soon pay no attention as they focus back to whatever they were doing before.

Together we make our way through some of the side passages located in Aldrin that were built around a year ago for the service of government and security personnel to make a quick transition around the spaceport without having to be disrupted by civilian elements. After ten minutes of travel we make our way to Hangar 33 where a Garancieres-class transport the SS Colombo was waiting. In the same hangar existed a few Papua-class transports and surprisingly one of the new Defiant-class ships of the Space Force which OSS was starting to use for missions around the Earth Sphere. Pietro leads me to a smaller scale version of the security terminals in the airport where he is then flanked by two guards. "Specialist Jensen I'm going to have to ask you to go through these scanners for a few minutes before we proceed. Nothing to worry about, just standard procedure to make sure that you are who your Identifications says you are and that you are not carrying any contraband that will be detrimental to the mission." Understanding the necessity of the request I comply and then proceed to be scanned while one of the guards searches my luggage. Among Zeon one of the chief concerns of the new security was the issue of privacy with the body scanners in that it allows total strangers access to pics of your body which they can then leak to the internet for the whole Earth sphere to see. A few cases had popped up in the early days of the new tech's implementation however all perpetrators were then chiefly rounded up by the domestic bureau of the OSS and then sent to prison for 20-30 years for abuse of power and treason against the state. Despite the measures created in place by parliament to address the issues, many within the Federation pointed this as a sign of totalitarianism, despite the fact that a bomb can easily be discovered versus using the scanners versus if the person had gone through normal federal procedures. This wasn't really a fear that I had to worry about though as anyone who leaked my pictures with my Augments would surely be hunted down by Kycillia for leaking of classified materials. And these men surely knew that such a thing was beyond idiotic to do.

After ten minutes the scannings stop and my luggage is promptly given back to me with proper approval. "There you go Specialist, you're all set to go. Good luck on your mission and godspeed. Sieg Zeon."

"Thanks, Sieg Zeon." I reply emotionlessly as I head towards the Colombo to begin my new life on Earth.  
 **  
November 26th, 0069. Earth Atmosphere. Hong Kong Airspace**

After three days of monotonous travel we finally made our way onto Earth. The days of travel between Zeon and the Earth were rather dull as there was little to do within our cargo ship and the crew while polite, mostly kept to themselves. To pass the time away I reread the mission briefs, studied a bit about Japan and the surrounding East Asian region, and kept myself entertained with some e-books and movies. One interesting read was when I decided to try out Machiavelli's "The Prince." While many post-renaissance philosophers and political scientists tended to dismiss the work as solely a period piece from which to derive quotes from, it was actually a startling guideline that drew many parallels to Zeon's current situation. While many both within and without Zeon liked to think of Degwin Zabi as the clear head of Zeon, it was clear in many ways that it was thanks to Gihren that the Zabis were able to rise in to power and through him the vast reforms that have created Zeon today were enacted. That is not to say that Degwin is powerless for the Soveriegn is far more than just a mere puppet, rather it was that Gihren was the man who enacted change and inspired a revolution among the populace of Side 3. Practically Machiavelli's wet dream. ' _Ironic is it not, that a fascist monarchy shall become our savior against an authoritarian democracy?'_

"Attention crew and passenger, we shall be landing ast Hong Kong International in an ETA of ten minutes. All non-essential personnel must strap in their seats as we descent unto the ground." Instructed the pilot with myself then proceeding to do as told. Looking outside the window I could see the immense city of Hong Kong coming into the horizon. Since the dawn of the Universal Century, Hong Kong was one of the few Terran cities that not only survived, but grew to new lengths and prosperity that far exceeded their status in the 20th century. As the financial center of Eurasia and one of the leading trade ports in the entire Earth sphere, Hong Kong far outgrew its limits with massive spyraling skyscrapers, kilometers of artificial islands created to add additional territory, and a bumbling population of around 42 million. However all this growth came at a cost as the "Jewel of Asia" had one of the worst financial disparities among its populace with a stark divide between the poor and rich. Meanwhile Hong Kong was also the unspoken center of crime in the world with an extensive human trafficking network, drug trade, bases of several mafia organizations, and a high rate of petty crime that ran amok in the city. If a comparison had to be made then it would be New York City in its Golden Age from the 1980's-2060's before the fall of American leadership in the Federation.

After landing at the Spaceport and waiting several minutes for docking procedures, I was given leave to exit the ship and enter the terminal. I proceeded as quickly as i could and then exited into the terminal where I found myself with a pilot waiting with the name "Derek Haas", my temporary alias outside the gates. The pilot in question was an Asian female of early-to-mid twenties with a medium height and slender build along with a short raven haircut and a grey pilot's jumpsuit. Presuming that she was my contact, I approached the pilot and then proceeded to give the code phrase that I was given for contact.

"Nice weather we're having too bad the city smells like manure." I say, looking for an answer. Zeon's confirmation phrases that were used for meetups were supposed to be based on everyday conversational items that wouldn't receive too much attention. While they could go for more complicated wording, there wasn't really a need as the phrases were switched every 60 hours and covert ops placed a strict emphasis on blending in. The real key to the phrases was that you had to be precise for each word. One wrong slipup and the mission was compromised.

The pilot smiled a little bit and then responded, "You'll get used to the smell. After all what would you expect from the hive of scum and villainy." I relaxed my posture a little bit as the response was precise which meant the pilot was my contact. "Come along Mr. Haas." The pilot motioned over with a touch of sarcasm on my alias, "I'll escort you to the runway and we'll proceed to the target." The pilot then lead me through the spaceport where cargo was being unloaded and passegners shipped off, all of whom we're affiliated with Zeon or its interests in one way or another. After a while we enter into a corridor which leads to the aviation section of the spaceport.

The pilot then turns to me while I lit up a cigarette, she snorts a little bit in disgust of the smell of nicotine but then adjusts and focuses attention on me with a playful attitude. "So Spyguy, how are you likeing your visit to Hong Kong. It's your first Earthside isn't it? I can tell because all you Spacenoids get a bit of motion sickness from the natural gravity. Even if you spooks like to pretend that you're tough as a rock on the inside."

I frown a bit at the casualness and breaking of protocol. "We aren't exactly supposed to be disclosing information inside an undisclosed location."

"Come on, lighten up a little bit Spyguy." The pilot says while playfully smacking my shoulder, though reeling in her hand a bit from the rough contact on my Augments. "You spooks are always too damn paranoid. We're inside Zeon's own private section of the airport that's under your control and yet you act like we're in the middle of an open bazar. Besides there's no harm starting a bit of small talk since we'll be working together for the indefinite future. I'm a pilot for the Japanese cell so I guess you could say that I'll be your personal chaeffuer around Earth. Name's Keiko Uraki." The pilot, now known as Keiko, says while holding out a hand for a shake.

Against my reservations and somewhat introversion, I decided to return it out of basic politeness and the fact that she's been so open to me. "Adam Jensen. OSS."

"So you're arm's really Augmented huh?" Keiko asks, to which I simply nod, fearing of the reaction. "Sweet! That's so cool. I got a baby brother who's a bit of a robotics geek and he'd absolutely kill to have a look at this." I raised my eyebrows in suprise of the response. While most people I've met and revealed my Augmentations to were mostly unease and a bit fearful (Surprisingly simply being a Newtype with latent abilities will get you more hate than cybernetic limbs) Keiko was one of the few who was actually interested and positively curious about them. Something that I didn't mind, just surprising is all.

"Wait, how the hell do you know about my Augmentations?" I question. While the existence of Augmentations themselves were a recent discovery with tens of thousands in Zeon having them, their weaponization and classification of mine we're a secret. If any civilians ever saw them in public then I simply said they were a prototype of a future series. Yet Keiko seemed to have prior knowledge of them.

Keiko didn't seem to take the situation seriously as she just shrugged nonchalantly and then explained. "My gramps told me all about you since we'd be working closely for the future and most of the cell knows that you have them. It's just that only gramps and a few of the medical and technical staff know about the exact specifications."

"And who exactly is your grandfather?"

"Daisuke Uraki, leader of the 'Japanse Resistance' and East Asian Division for Zeon Intellegence. Shouldn't you have known about that?" While it is true that I did know who Daisuke Uraki was and I read his file, I didn't think that he'd have any family members, specifically his granddaughter, working in Zeon Intelligence. The report didn't have any mention of Kieko so either she was new to the game or just wasn't a threat or high priority to Zeon.

"Yes I know of him, just didn't see the connection. Is the East Asian Division just the Uraki family circus?" I remark with Keiko laughing a little.

"No nothing along that line. Just me and gramps. My own parents don't even know about me joining and they just think that gramps is living his life retired in the city and living off his social security. In truth he's just a simple patriot who's working hard to kick the Federation out of our island and make sure that Japan gets the honor and glory that it deserves."

"He's not one of those crazy Neo-Imperialists is he?" I ask with a bit of concern. Despite the length in time since the 20th century and the great amount of coexistence that humanity has developed, fringe groups of long dead ideologies still remained. The KKK, Radical Muslims, Neo-Nazis, Neo-Communists, and more were scattered throughout the Earth and colonies and liked to make their presence known through their hate. Thankfully with the current conditions of humanity it was next to impossible that any one of these groups would come back soon."

Keiko shakes her head in a bit of amusement. "Nah, he's not some crazy samurai who wants to resurrect the Empire and believes that Nanking never happened bullshit. Just a man who's patriotic and wants to preserve Japanese culture against Globalism. I find the concern a bit ironic actually since it's coming from a Space Nazi who yells 'Sieg Zeon!' every five seconds.' The last sentence was a bit of a joke though I groaned a bit as she just described the great stereotype that has unfortunately defined any Spacenoid form Side 3 in the past year. While it is true that we had some fanatical citizens who acted in that exact fashion, the no one was forced to yell 'Heil Degwin!' as a greeting and we weren't setting up concentration camps. Though it didn't exactly help that our national rallying cry was literally ripped from Hitler's.

"Fair point."

"Come on Spyguy, let's get on the VTOL so we can reach Japan before night."

"You got an inflight movie and some peanuts?" I joke.

"Well that's only reserved for first class and it looks like you bought commercial. Though I do have a couple of mints. Going to cost you five credits though." Keiko said as the VTOL got into view. It was a Hurricane-class VTOL that was one of the latest models by Boeing though it used jet propulsion instead of the simple heli-turbines. As I looked onto the craft I noticed some glaring differences to the standard commercial models, apparently it was modified by intelligence with an emphasis on stealth, though few except those in the military and intelligence with the know-how could notice. "Hop on in, Just five more hours and we'll be able to reach the land of the Rising Sun." We both get into the VTOL and fly away after checking with the Hong Kong airtower, making it the second time I traveled in Earth's atmosphere.

It took exactly five hours to reach the shores to Japan and one the way we struck up some conversation. I was mostly just interested in asking questions about the Japanese Cell and what life was like in Japan. Keiko was more open and liked to talk ask about my personal history along with sharing various stories of her life in Japan and tales of her family; especially a variety of topics about her younger brother Kou from his love of mobile suits to his fervent hatred for carrots. I must admit that it was quite relaxing and a good contrast to most of the professional conversations that I had with some of my coworkers in the past few months. After taking a nap for a while on the trip over I was nudged heavily from Keiko to wake me up, "Up and at em Spyguy, we're finally at our destination, Welcome to the Land of the Rising Sun, or as I like to call it, home."

I looked outside of the window to see the coming cityscape of what looked like to be Tokyo, Japan due to some of the famous landmarks that appeared such as the Tokyo tower. However, it was an odd sight as the city seemed to be split in half with the center and outlying business districts looking to be created in a form of Universal Futurism architecture, while the rest of the city appeared to be in decay with most building being from the 20th century and various areas of unfinished construction or demolition. 'That's weird, not even Zeon had this bad of a contrast before the Zabis, I thought Earth was supposed to be some sort of Eden, a paradise?' "I bet you're wondering why the hell one of the largest cities on Earth looks like crap instead of the bullshit propaganda that they feed your Spacenoids." stated Keiko to which I responded with a light nod.

"Well you see the Federation happened. After the Third World War we were hit with tens of millions of refugees from the mainland with the fall of Communist China and North Korea. At first it was pretty chaotic with the huge ethnic tensions and economic disparity of the refugees in trying to find a new home in Japan, but as the years went by things boiled over and the refugees turned into immigrants and integrated into society, entirely eliminating the failing birth rate issue brought on by the otakus and working adults. Hell it was the start of a Golden Age never seen since the Empire with only the U.S topping us in economic power. Then the Federation was born and fucked it all up. With the colonies being constructed Jaburo decided to ask each nation to deport their undesirables in an effort to fix the overpopulation problem and 'Save the Planet!'. In reality it was all just excuses to get rid of the poor, minorities, and all those who did not conform to the ideals of modern Western Civilization. Our government at the time which was led by a bunch of a-hole Nationalists, decided this was the perfect time to 'Restore our purity' and managed to convince the Federation to take on all non-ethnically Japanese citizens and those who lived below the poverty line or were considered to be non-productive members of society. By 0050 our population had dropped from 320 million to less than 60 million."

"I always thought it was strange how you could find so many people of Japanese descent within the colonies, even Degwin Zabi himself is half-Japanese. Now it all makes sense." I commented.

"Yeah and that's not the end of our story. Turns out the Nationalists didn't bother to think what eliminating over 80% of your population would do to your country nor the possibility that the Federation would use the colonies as their main economic base instead of the traditional industrial powerhouses on Earth. Without all that human capitol and a massive brain drain on potential services, Japan's economy became a shadow of its former self and we've been withering away ever since with more people leaving the country each year. And surprise, surprise to those dumbass geezers, the immigration from foreign nations on Earth has increased over the past few years and now 20% of Japan is non-Japanese, yet the Nationalists can't do a thing because Federal laws prevent any restriction of migration between Terran nations. Poetic justice at its finest." I chuckled a bit at the outcome. While the situation did appear to be sad the leadership had no one to blame but themselves, something that was also happening to Lhasa with their surprise at the demands for Spacenoid autonomy.

"We may not have gone through the same hardships as you guys in space, but don't think for a second that we got it easy on Mother Earth. We're fighting for our homes just like you guys are. Hopefully given enough time we can spread the Revolution around and fix the damned Universal Century once and for all." Keiko then cuts the conversation as she shifts attention back onto the controls and I noticed that we were nearing the helipads at Hirohito International. "Sorry for rambling Jensen. Looks like we made it. I'll dock at the helipad and escort you to HQ, its on the city outskirts so we won't have too long of a drive. Once we get their you can see gramps and get you caught up to speed."

"It's okay, thanks for the talk. Certainly brings things into perspective." I responded. It was actually interesting to hear what life was like on Earth and to see it with my own eyes. I guess that the Zabis own propaganda was pretty effective in that regard in making us believe that all Terrans were greedy scumbags wanting to oppress the colonies til the end of time. Not taht there wasn't any truth in the speeches as said actions could be accurate of Federal leadership, though it seems like not everyone on Earth shares their values.

After landing at the airport we had to go through some checks with security, managing to hide our true intentions by bypassing normal regulations at a private section along with some presumably pre-paid bribes to some of the airport personnel considering how lazy they were in checking. Something that signaled they were either corrupt or just too stupid to do their jobs. Once we got that cleared Keiko led me to the subway where we traveled to downtown Tokyo near the outskirts of Akihabara. After it was quite crowded today as thousands of Japanese along with tourists filled the streets but we kept to ourselves and luckily didn't get any attention besides a few odd glances from a passerby every now and then. Our final destination was an antique book store which was deserted save for an old man in presumably his seventies at the counter. Keiko and the man said some words in Japanese which I presumed was the code phrase, 'note to self, learn Japanese.' afterwords the elderly clerk shifted attention back to the novel he was reading while Keiko lead me to a back section of the store, where a pull of a book revealed a scanner which after retinal confirmation, turned into an elevator where we both stepped in.

"Holy horrible cliches Batman." I remark to which Keiko gives a light laugh, suggesting she understood my reference.

"Hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Besides no one likes to shop here anymore with all the attention going to the manga shops down the street. If you're wondering how we managed to set up a base on Earth by the way, this is actually an abandoned FOB that Internal Affairs set up in the 1980's to try and combat the Yakuza. It was abandoned in 0008 once funds started to shift to the colonies so no one bothered to go down here until one day gramps found the plans while shifting through some files before he retired. All the old records used to be held up in the Archives in Tokyo until one of our agents captured them and burned it in a trashcan. So officially this place doesn't exist and the Feds are none the wiser." I nodded in appreciation of the strategy behind the setup of the resistance, an effective method no doubt since the Anno Domini records were no doubt kept in paper so there wouldn't be any digital copies.

My attention then shifted in front of me as the movement of the elevator gave way to a sudden stop as a light ping confirmed our location with the doors opening, the sign saying we were five floors below. Stepping out of the elevator I was met with a familiar scene of what could be a near exact replica of the OSS HQ as multiple stations were spread out in a room while dozens of operatives ran about doing their assigned task. Most of those within the vicinity glanced from what they were doing and were giving me an odd look, probably wondering how the foreigner waltzed into their operations. However most seemed reassured when they saw Keiko next to me, giving me the clear as they went back to their work.

"Looks like this is where we'll have to part ways Jensen. I gotta check in with logistics, want me to do a package run to Hokaido tonight, why don't you check in with gramps, he should be in his office on the third floor. Just go up the stairwell and take a right, can't miss it."

"Thanks for the help Uraki. It's been nice knowing you."

"Any time spyguy!" With that Keiko drifted away into the base while I followed the directions to her grandfather's office. Upon reaching it the door was openso I took a glance inside where there was an old, rather short, Japanese man with a greying head of hair at the desk. He appeared to be on the phone and conversing in Japanese with whoever was on the end. I stood there for a couple of seconds, unsure of what to do until he noticed I was standing in the doorway.

" _Arigato Tachikawa-San, seishikina wakare._ " The man who was presumably the elder Uraki, then hung the phone and stood up with a formal bow. I decided to do so as well in a rather awkward copy and then proceed with introductions."

"Specialist Adam Jensen reporting for duty. Is this Director Uraki whom I am speaking with?"

"Ah yes, Jensen-San, come in and take a seat. I am Dasiuke Uraki, Director of the East Asian Division." We then shook hands as I took a seat while Uraki sat back at his desk while collecting some files together. "I must say Agent Jensen that it is nice to have another former lawmen here with us in the Division. I myself spent nearly forty years in Section 9 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs." Daisuke said while pointing to some encased plaques that were on the wall. "Our section mainly dealt with domestic terrorism within Japan. Yet now it seems like I have become the same enemy that I had hunted down for most of my life. Ironic is it not, how we who were sworn to uphold the law must violate it in order to protect the people?" I nodded in agreement, while we may have both been men of the law in the past, we were now united in bringing down the corrupt system of the Federation from the outside.

"The goal of the East Asian Division will be sow dissent against the rule of Lhasa within the region and get the people to turn against the Federation and fight for the side of Zeon. While we are metaphorically in the belly of the beast on Earth, we have more than enough supporters to begin a revolution, as exemplified by the men and women outside this office working for Zeon. My mission in particular is to liberate Japan and make sure that she is once more a free and sovereign nation. Should the time come where there will be a conflict between Earth and Zeon, we will act groundside to ensure Zeon's victory. Zeon is the beacon of hope that gives us courage to fight against Marcenas. It's thanks to Spacenoids like you that we have even begun to resist in the first place.

"Any particular objectives outside of the usual cell activity? Anything that lies within regional conditions or the agenda of the Federation?" I questioned.

"At this moment Federal intelligence is working rapidly within the planet to hunt down and eliminate a group of people who they fear to be the greatest danger to the Federation, Newtypes. The discrimination and persecution that you may have witnessed among the other Sides is minuscule in comparison to the hate on Earth. Simply saying the word will get you a flurry of curses of how the Newtypes are plotting to take over the world. Normal citizens who have caused no harms in their lives are getting lynched simply because of their cognoscente abilities that they may have not even been aware of. It's not just private actions that are fueling the flame. The Federation is the one most responsible for their subtle policies which may eventually accumulate in a Newtype Apartheid. For all their talk of universal equality for all of humanity, they are no more bigots than the racial supremacists of the 20th century. Anti-Newtype activity has recently risen within East Asia with China beginning a purge of Newtypes from their society, other nations are soon to follow. It is our job to help these poor souls to escape in the future creation of the Underground Railroad. These refugees will escape to Side 3 where they will live their lives in peace, and the Federation will lose whatever objective they were planning on."

"Director, if I may ask. What exactly will my role be within the division?" I asked uncertainly. "While I know my importance as the first of a new-generation of Augmented spies, no one ever told me what I would do within that role or how I would achieve success for Zeon. I don't want to become some sort of glorified guinea pig for my augmentations. They've already took much of my humanity." I say with a bit of regret.

Uraki notices my tone and shows a look of sympathy for my predicament. "Jensen, when I had received a communication from Kycillia Zabi detailing your transfer to the division, I was given absolute discrepancy to use you as I saw fit. I read your files so I am aware of the tragedy which lead to your augmentation, something I wish never happened for sure. However you shouldn't look upon those arms and legs as a burden, but as gifts that you can use to bring good to this crapsack of a world that we live in. Within our division you will be given jobs of the upmost importance that few others can accomplish. This will include a variety of tasks such as infiltration, sabotage, handling of defections, information gathering, and much more. I need you in the frontlines Jensen so that our dream can become a reality. Don't look upon yourself as Adam Jensen, the Augment. Instead view yourself as Adam Jensen, freedom fighter. Besides we Japanese have long had an interest in robotics and cybernetics. I think you'll fit right in."

I smiled a little bit at that. It seems that my fears of what would happen Earthside were mostly false. If Keiko and Daisuke Uraki were any example of how my coworkers would be, then I think I'll enjoy my time on Earth. "Thanks for that Director. By the way when's my first mission going to be?"

Uraki smiled at that with a little bit of mischief in his face. "Your first operation will be an infiltration that will take place in a few days. Tell me Jensen-san, have you ever heard of Murasume Labs?"

 **December 1st, 0069. Kyoto, Japan**

Flying over the island of Japan in the VTOL with Keiko, I look towards the Horizon as the looming shape of the headquarters of Murasume Labs made its appearance. The complex was a collection of buildings which were built in the Kyoto countryside in the 0020's to provide a new ground for research and development of antibiotics and drugs. The location of the HQ being on the outskirts of the Kyoto so that it could do its business away from the public eye and to make sure that it wouldn't come under attack by corporate espionage.

A few days ago I was briefed by Director Uraki into the depth of Murasume's activities. On the outside Murasume Labs is a legitimate conglomeration of several pharmaceutical corporations in 2027. Thanks to Japan's then-edge in pharmaceutical production and research, Murasume became the largest pharmaceutical producer within the Earth sphere and was currently providing for 63% of all drug production in the solar system. While Zeon's scientists were making leaps in medical science, Murasume still held an edge with its vast resources and monopoly over several key drug treatments for critical diseases. All this made Murasume seem like a benevolent company that met the needs of the people, but it was far from the truth.

According to Dasiuke, Murasume had a heavy hand in the criminal underworld with strong ties to the Awakusu, Japan's largest Yakuzu family and one of the most influential mafia groups within the Earth sphere. This also came with bought votes and a strong influence in the Japanese and Federation parliaments, several MP's drafting and voting on bills that went in their favor. Many controversies surrounded Murasume over the years such as their monopolization and heavy price on certain drugs, rumors of illegal human experimentation, presence within the stock market, and lethal business practices to their competition. Daisuke told me that during his days in Section 9 that he had to go through a whole mess of red tape to convict a Murasume employee for a crime even if they were clearly guilty of it with substantial evidence. _'All of this and more makes for the worst fears of a capitalist dystopia come true. No matter what happens in Zeon, at least we don't have a company of similar power.'  
_  
The worst part was that investigation into Murasume Labs, which had begun under order by Kycillia Zabi near the beginning of the year, had uncovered that Murasume was beginning to take extensive deals with the Federation, particularly with Federal Intelligence. All the signs pointed to Newtype research with many failed attempts being reported by Murasume Labs to infiltrate the Flanagan Institute, along with the disappearance of dozens of Newtypes across Japan. My mission was to infiltrate the Headquarters and hack into the central computer so that we could have access to all their operations. Just a quick get in and out scheme. If all goes perfectly then we can begin to dismantle their company starting next year.

I made my way to the door of the VTOL to prepare for the drop onto the HQ. "Approaching Murasume HQ in an ETA of two minutes. Remember Jensen that Tohru gave you a strict ten minute window for the external cams to go offline while you make your entrance. So haul ass before they manage to catch you. Once your done escape the facility and arrive at the coordinates for extract."

"Copy that." I reply.

"Oh and Jensen, make sure you get a crap ton of aspirin while you're there. They cost fifteen credits at the drug store and I'd rather stock up and save." Keiko says playfully.

I smile back. "I'll see what I can do. See you on the flipside flygirl." I reply with a mock salute before the doors open and I jump out, descending over 2,000 meters down below. At the time I jumped out without a parachute and normally this would be a cause of instant death. However as part of my many augmentations, my lower torso was installed with an experimental prototype of what was called the "Icarus Landing System". What Icarus composed of was a system of vernier jets that act in much of the same manner as the verniers on a mobile suit. Effectively acting as a personal jetpack which upon the sensing of a descent at the tenth of the fall, would kick in the verniers and allow for a slow and controlled descent. This was tested multiple times at Zeon with the highest being a fall I made at one kilometer. Hopefully it wouldn't malfunction and turn me into a human pancake on my first mission.

Thankfully Icarus worked as promised and I was able to slowly descend at 200 meters, landing with a soft thud onto the roof of the building. 'Out of all the Augmentations this has gotta be the best. Maybe I can set aside some time for skydiving at the end of my career. After making touchdown I motioned my shades, which were in reality retractable eye shields, to form. While most who had seen me use them, especially indoors, thought that I was trying to pull some sort of hipster look, in reality the shades served as an HUD that displayed my surroundings and relayed information from the display. The shades themselves were most important right now as they allowed the access of a camera which would relay information back to HQ were the situation was being monitored.

"Ah Jensen-san, nice to see that your drop went without any problems." stated Director Uraki. "Your current objective at the moment is to infiltrate Murasume Labs and hack the company's servers so that we may uncover the full extent of their collusion with the Federation. I'll connect you to Hashida-kun while I observe the situation. Uraki's profile which was on display then shifted to an image of the overweight computer speciliast (and self-proclaimed master hacker) which was Tohru Hashida, a man who worked as a freelance hacker against both Murasume and and the Federation before joining the resistance.

"All right Robocop, let's get this show on the road. By God, I've always wanted to do this one day. To fuck Murasume right up in the ass. It's every hacker's dream come true." Stated Hashida with an intense enthusiasm.

"Can we please focus on the case at hand?" I asked with a bit of a groan.

"Alright, alright. Jeez, no need to kill the mood. I'm uploading schematics of the complex to your HUD. The central server room should be located in the middle floor on the East wing of the complex. There should be a few cameras within the hallways, but if you get me to the security hub then I can guide you into hacking the cameras and allowing you to walk right past them. Besides that you should only face some security guards every now and then along with some random poor sap of an employee who you may come by. Murasume usually likes to slow business along with several of their executives taking time off at the end of the year, so you shouldn't encounter to many people." I reply with an affirmative and make my way inside the building.

The passage into Murasume Labs was part of a utility conduct for maintenance so there wasn't any traffic for the first few minutes besides two maintenance man who happened to be roaming through the halls, which I managed to pass through distraction or simple stealth. The end of the passageway led into the tenth floor of the facility which was basically a storage floor for projects and odd equipment. This time I had finally encountered some security with a few cameras along with a roaming gaurdsmen, though it wasn't too much of an issue with the HUD showing the line of sight for the cameras along with the guards mostly just lounging around, clearly not expecting a Zeon spy to infiltrate the premisis. To be honest I could simply destroy the cameras and knock out or kill the guards quickly in order to prevent increased security in the case I get compromised. While the OSS may have given us the go ahead to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission, I wanted to keep it as stealthily and non-lethal as possible to make for an undiscovered infiltration. It didn't mean I was a pacifist or that I was afraid to get my hands dirty. It was more of my conscience telling me not to attack these people as they were just normal researchers and guards hired to protect corporate interests, not terrorists or members of Federal Intelligence. It was more than likely that they didn't even know of Murasume's connection to the Federation anyways.

Slowly making my way through the complex, I come down to the sixth floor where the security hub was. Unfortunately there were a few more guards than normal patrolling the area, which meant I had to begin some non-lethal takedowns. Luckily there was an air duct i one of the storage rooms which allowed my access to the security hub without having to roam the halls. _'You know I should really be thankful to the idiot that designed these ducts to be human-sized for travel. Even with the extra bulk with my augmentations I'm still bale to access them for travel. Idiots.'  
_  
After trekking through the vents I managed to find my way to the security hub where there were two guards at the display. I slightly opened the vent and then jumped down, my augmented legs preventing the creation of any noise of the disturbance. I whip out the stun gun and then proceed to fire on one of the grunts, shocking him and causing instant unconsciousness from the impact. "What the hell!" shrieked the second grunt as I quickly moved to disable him from behind with a blow to the head. His face fell flat on the monitor and then his body dropped to the ground. A quick check to his vitals showed that he was still alive. I then made my way to the keyboard. "Hashida, I'm in the Security hub."

"Nice going Jensen! Just follow my lead and I'll guide you through the process of hacking the computer. You'll have to insert the floppy disk I gave you and wait a little while for the full effect to kick in as Murasume's still hooked on the old systems. Shame really as I could easily hack into it in a few seconds if they upgraded to Zeon's latest OS." I then proceeded to do as Hashida asked, following every step of the hacking process. After a few minutes of wait, access was gained to the entire security system and I uploaded Hashida's virus which disabled the security cams and forced them to play on a loop, this occurred along with the disabling of security for the server room. Luckily it should be an hour before anyone notices the problems within the system or checks up on the guards within this room. I lock the door and then make my way back through the vents, escaping down to the fourth floor.

Upon reaching the fourth floor I had to avoid (or in the unfortunate case of a few, knock out) the employees on the floor to make my way to the server room. Two grunts were again at the doors and I took out the Tranquilizer rifle to subdue both, with the two grunts collapsing down from the effects of the drug after fifteen seconds, knocking them out for the next eight hours. I store them in a supply closet with the others as I use the codes from the security hub to unlock the room and enter into the Servers. Thankfully there were no retinal or DNA scans necessary for further entrance so I was able to get through without any major problems. I then took out a portable laptop and proceeded to wire it to the central terminal.

"Good work Jensen, now just relax while I work my magic and hack away into the system. Since your laptop is connected wirelessly to our servers, I should just hack my way into the server as long as there is a connection. Just hang on tight for a while, while I get to work." I set the laptop down on the ground while the screen became filled with various programs running on the software for the hacking. I made my way back to the door to prepare for intruders, but luckily the coast was clear on the hallways. After a few minutes of waiting I got contact back from Hashida, the laptop appearing with a blank screen which signaled that the hack was complete.

"Well I got some good news and some bad news Jensen."

"Tell me the good news first." I reply in anxiety.

"Well the good news is that I got full access to the servers and now have all the information available on Murasume. The bad news is that there is no visible link to the Federation."

"The fuck Hashida! Are you telling me that this op was pointless?!" I question with a rise in the rage of my voice.

"Calm down a second man, all I said was that there were no visible links to the Federation. Not that there are none." Hashida explained.

"What's the difference?"

"You see there are multiple signs of shady work all around with sudden injections into Murasume's accounts from the previous months worth millions of credits, transfer of equipment and personnel all across the world to undisclosed locations, deletion of several subject files and the missing stock of several drugs. The thing is that the endpoint or goal of all these ventures are obscured and not displayed at all within the company's network. If it was that obvious then some whistleblower would've beat us to the source a long time ago." I sighed with a bit of disappointment. To be honest I should've expected this as while the Federation could be clueless sometimes, they weren't idiots or else the system would've fallen long ago.

"Don't be distraught Jensen-san." said the voice of Director Uraki who's display now made an appearance. "While we may not have full access to Murasume, and we don't have clear knowledge of their dealings with the Federation, we have several possible leads on where that activity is currently taking place as well as a treasure trove of information on most of Murasume's public and illegal dealings. The information at display on my computer is also heavily indicating our Newtype experimentation theory as Murasume has the files of several confirmed Japanese Newtypes as well as several folders detailing research into the subject. It seems they're trying to tap into artificial creation of Newtypes, something that I'm sure that Jamitov would love to get his hands on. While the war is far from over we have won a great battle today. Proceed to exit the building for extraction and make your way to rendezvous with the VTOL. I'll want a full debriefing as soon as you return."

"Copy that. Jensen out." After disconnecting the connection between the laptop and the server room, I then exited the area and then proceeded to trace my steps back through my original route. After ten minutes of travel (the length of time extended due to the need to avoid incoming personnel) I then made my way to the rooftops where I jumped off and thanks to the Icarus system, landed outside of the gate where I traveled on foot through the thick forest to arrive at the rendezvous. While I may not have been able to get all the answers I desired, I was able to launch a hit at the Federation and take the first step to uncovering and stopping their activities on Earth. The journey to the top of this mad conspiracy will take many years to finish as I worked within the OSS to bring down Lhasa. No matter what obstacles may come, no matter what hardships I will face. I'll never stop looking. I will find the truth.

 **A/N: Hello everyone, sorry for the massive delays but with exams over and school basically done, the story should get back on track. Really sorry for the huge delay on this one, but I had a severe case of writer's block and I had huge difficulty even writing a simple sentence for a majority of the chapter. Next update will be another Dozle POV to see the introduction of the Zaku's, while Chapter 26 will be my take on the origins of Newtypes within the Universal Century. Hope you guys liked the chapter as I had just finished Deus Ex: Human Revolution the week before and I felt the urge to do a sudden crossover between the two as I felt that there were many possibilities to choose, especially with Mitchum's Augmentations that have been immensely upgraded from their Thunderbolt counterparts. Now before some get worried that I will meld the two universes, Gihren's Glory is primarily a UC Gundam fic. Lot's of stuff from Deus Ex such as the Illuminati, Nano-Augmentations, Bob Page, the Templars, Helios, the Grey death, etc; will not exist within the story. We already got Marcenas and the Laplace conspiracy so there's no need for the actual existence of the Illuminati. Adam Jensen will primarily show up in a couple of important future chapters regarding espionage and the hidden war against the Federation, but most of the focus will stay on the Zabi family. Looking forward to your thoughts on the crossover.**

 **Also I think I should address some of the questions which will eventually pop up. On Kou and the status of his family within the story, its never mentioned what his life was like before he joined Torrington so I thought it would be interesting to see how the life of a Gundam protagonist has been altered in other ways than scenarios like Amuro joining Zeon. Both Keiko Uraki and Daisuke Uraki are my OC's with Keiko being based off of Faridah Malik from Deus Ex while Daisuke is based off of his Section-9 counterpart from Ghost in the Shell. Both had similar feelings about the Federation in canon but the reason they didn't join Zeon was because the Zabis were pure fascist dictators and Daisuke did not want Japan to go to a similar route like canon, so he decided to stay neutral during the conflict. Here with Zeon reforming and the Federation getting more oppressive each day, Daisuke sees Zeon as the better alternative and wants their help in kicking the Federation out of Japan. He was highly involved in his granddaughter's life so he convinced Keiko to join the resistance as well. Now this doesn't mean that Kou will be a Zeon fanatic or he'll be an active part of the resistance as he's just 4 right now and both Keiko and Daisuke don't want him to go through their life. Rather his sister and grandfather's allegiance to Zeon will help to build Kou's character and his route in the sequel of Gihren's Glory where he'll be a prominent side character.**

 **We will see more of Murasume Labs in the future in their schemes for creating Cyber Newtypes along with other chapters focusing on Jamitov's plans and the rise of the resistance on Earth. This chapter while not having much story impact, is meant to lay the groundwork for things to come as we start to see the butterfly effect have immense ripples on the Earth sphere.**

 **Lastly, I hope that Jensen's thoughts on the averted 9/11 and how that scenario changed TTL is alright with you readers. I wasn't trying to make any political statements or anything, rather I wanted to explore how the prevention of 9/11 would have a large effect on society in the decades into the future and how Zeon's security implementation which is meant by Kaiser Gihren to prevent such a terrorist attack from occurring, is having an effect on the populace as they don't see the reasons why its needed. The changes however while restricting, will have benefits moving forward as Operation Stardust would've never happened in canon if the Federation put up a shred of airport security following the war. All they did was check Gato's passport and just let him walk right through, even though facial recognition should've spotted him first thing as he was a famous war ace. Just my thoughts on the matter.**

 **Thanks you guys for reading and stay tuned for more. Old men are the future!**


	25. Team Deathmatch

**December 4th, 0069. Granada, Luna. Dozle Zabi POV  
**  
"Lord Dozle, unit 01 is prepped and ready for launch!" Said Chief Simmons at attention, as I approached my personal Zaku-I in the hanger bay.

"Thank you very much chief. And for the last time it's just Commander Zabi or Commander Dozle, none of this Lord business. My father may be Sovereign of Zeon, but at the end of the day I'm still just an officer in the Space Force."

"Right Lor- I mean Commander Dozle! Sorry about that sir. " With that Simmons gave a brisk salute and then scurried to the other side of the hanger to move onto his next duty.

When the Chief Petty Officer left I let out a small sigh as I headed into the Zaku cockpit to check on the mobile suit's instruments. Ever since the referendum, along with the coronation, the men and women of the Granada base had been treating me far differently than how things were before. While Ramba and I did initially have a hard time settling into command due to our family names, over time the pilots and the base staff as a whole warmed up to us due to our firm and fair leadership and focus on work over politics. Among the 01st MS Wing I had ceased to exist as Dozle Zabi son of Degwin and brother of Gihren; instead I was Dozle Zabi, their commanding officer. Then the whole referendum happened and now everyone treats me like I'm some kind of royalty. Okay well _I am_ royalty now, but it's not like I've suddenly turned into one of those snotty aristocrats in Europe and the Middle East. Father said it himself that we're servants of the people, nothing more and nothing less.

It's not like I'm not proud of father's ascension as Sovereign or the success our family has achieved. It's just that sometimes I wish that we could turn back time to the good old days when we weren't the most famous family in the Earth sphere. Sure we didn't have nearly as much money or fame as now, but we had each other and that was all that mattered. I guess that's why I haven't achieved nearly as much as my other siblings. It's probably because I never had nearly as much ambition as the rest of them. Look at Gihren for example, Prime Minister of the Principality of Zeon and the heir to its ruling dynasty, all at the young age of 25. Gihren may try and assure me that I'll always be a valued member of the family, and I do appreciate him for it, I know there will always be a clear divide on where our paths take us. Nevertheless I'll do my best and ensure that Zeon will come out victorious against the Federation, for that is my duty.

"Dozle come in, is red platoon ready for launch?" asked the voice of Ramba Ral on the radio.

"All prepped and ready for action! How about you? Any troubles on your end?"

"Nothing major. Unit 13 had a minor glitch in the motor circuitry but it's been patched up and we're hungry for some raw red Zakus." Said Ramba with a challenge in his tone. I grinned at that, the excitement of going unto the battlefield, even a simulated one, pumping adrenaline into my veins.

"We'll see about that Ral. You know I'm really going to miss you when I'm redeployed. Commanding a Musai just won't be as fun as kicking your ass all day."

Ramba snorted at my response in a bit of amusement. "I think the Minovsky particles may be causing some static on the comms commander. After all I swear that you meant to say running towards the Lunar pole while I gun you down. See you on the other side Zabi. Ral out." Ramba finished, cutting off the comms.

I let out a hearty laugh in response to the banter. Sure while Ramba's father may be a heartless bastard, Ramba himself was an honorable man who was in many ways the prime example of a Zeon soldier, and someone who I hoped to call my friend. If there was any comrade that I could trust my life to on the battlefield, it would be Ramba.

I then proceeded to finish my final flight checks of the Zaku and prep it for launch. While the Waff was a piece of work that will forever go down in history as the most revolutionary design of mobile suit, the Zaku by all means was far superior when you looked in comparison. If one where to compare the two then a similarity could be made of the Abrams tank to the Sherman. The Waff for all intents and purposes was an all-purpose machine that was merely heavily modified by our Zeonic in order to test out the capabilities that a mobile suit had for combat. At the end of the day it was a civilian in a soldier's uniform. The Zaku however, was a weapon that was born and breed for war and could annihilate anything that the Federation could throw against us.

Unlike the Waff the Zaku was a far less bulkier mobile suit that was built for fast maneuvering on both land and space, providing for some quick reaction times in combat. The suit was comprised almost entirety of a steel alloy that was a meter thick with a light titanium coating that made the weight bearable for mass production while also providing an even heavier protection. The weapons were still the same as the Waff though the side armaments were expanded with a variety of grenades such as plasma types, napalm, thermo, gas, and mass fragmentation grenades (nicknamed the crackerbarrel). The fists of the Zaku were also upgraded with the optional equipment of thermal gloves that could be used in melee, much in the same manner as boxing. Lastly in the weapons category were a large variety of bladed weapons with my own personal one being a heat katana. Of course there were numerous software upgrades and small performance boosts such as extended vernier usage, updated hardware with a 'learning computer, multiple optical viewings such as infra and laser, etc. Best of all was an addition to the cockpit that allowed an ejection before destruction of the Zaku. _'Something I'm very thankful to Tem Ray for.'  
_  
With the last of the checks finished I turned the comms to squad frequency to address the rest of the Red team. "All units Red Leader, prepare your Zaku's for launch and standby for battle. The objective of our match today as you all know is Team Deathmatch, with the main mission being to kill as many blues as you can. Our main theater today shall be Hades crater so be advised for long-range fighting and constant use of jumpacks. Remember to stay at least within two klicks of each other and use the terrain to your advantage. And as always, the lucky pilot who bags Ramba will be treated to a round of drinks on me." I exclaim with several shouts of approval on the comm. Ramba and I always liked to make small bets against each other when Red and Blue teams faced off, and something we always did was reward the pilot who shot the other leader down. This wasn't something to worry about most of the time though as half the time it would be me and Ramba who would get the kill on each other.

"All right Red units, mission begins in T-minus 5,4,3,2,1 Go! Red Leader Dozle Zabi, Launching!" I shout as my Zaku is catapulted onto the surface of the moon. I adjust to the lunar gravity and with the usage of my verniers stabilize my position and begin the long journey to the battlefield. Behind me the others follow suit.

"Red-02 Chalia Bull, Launching!"

"Red-05 Steiner Hardy, Launch!"

"Red-06 Andy Strauss, Let's do this!"

"Red-07 Gabriel Garcia, Lanzamiento!"

"Red-08 Mikhail Karinsky, Rock and Roll!"

One by one each of the Zaku's in Red Team launched until twenty Zaku-I's marched in tight formation as we made our way towards the enemy. Despite the two sides of the battle being nicknamed Red and Blue, the Zaku squadrons on both sides were multi-colored with my personal one being standard Green while Ramba's went for a dark Navy Blue. Part of the MS Corps regulations that Ramba and I came up with is the allowance of color variation in each mobile suit paint to allow for individuality and the identification of future aces that could install fear and provide a heavy presence on the battlefield. Some like me preferred to keep with the standard green, while others were more artistic in their creations. Examples were Chief Salavar who used Green and Red, or the Christmas Zaku as we called it. While one bizarre one was Ensign Newton's Zaku which was painted like something out of a Van Goh painting. _'I wonder if Garma is going to pilot a Purple Zaku?'  
_  
The main plan of attack against for the Red Team today was for us to lure Ramba and his men into Hades Crater and then proceed to massacre them using the high ground as an advantage. The crater itself was 776 meters deep sod if a Zaku managed to land itself on the bottom then it wouldn't be able to get back to the surface without a substantial amount of time and effort, leaving them exposed to enemy fire. Of course it's more than likely that Ramba himself had some sort of strategy in play and may have been expecting this; meaning that the winner of the battle today would be the one who would seize the initiative and control the field against the other.

For our main attack the squadron would be split into five fireteams. Fireteam Alpha, which included myself and Reds 2-4, would launch a frontal assault on the Blues while fireteams Bravo (5-8), Charlie (9-12) would provide the left and right flank respectively. As the head of Alpha I would be the thrust of the spear while Beta and Charlie would act as pincers to force the blues to group up together and push them towards the crater. The last two teams Delta (13-16) and Epsilon (17-20) would be rear support and come in at the climax of the battle as reinforcements to force Blue team into the trap.

After fifteen minute of traveling we were finally able to reach Hades crater, just a half-kilometer on the other side lay the Blue teams territory. I checked the Minovsky particle charge which indicated that there was a 50% density within the area, then checking the sensors which showed us to be the only Zakus within the area. Ever since the start of the War Games, Ramba and I have ordered the base to randomize Minovsky densities for the battles each time so that the pilots could get some needed experience in Minovsky warfare and be prepared for future space battles where it would be in heavy play. Some days the concentration was as low as 10% or sometimes 0 which meant a relatively easy use of communications and tracking. Other times the particles would fill the area with a couple of fights having been done in 100% Minovsky density. Due to the Minovsky particles being halfway it meant that communications through the squad would be iffy at best, forcing close contact within the fireteams and the usage of improvisation and independent tactics.

"Alright Alpha, prepare to jump on my mark and push Verniers to maximum. Bravo and Charlie begin the trek around Hades and accelerate at the first sign of enemy contact. Delta, Epsilon, hold back and provide cover for us moving forward. If the enemy shows itself then provide covering fire with Sniper and Rockets. Everyone clear?"

"Roger!" Came the General reply on the comms. Each Zaku took their positions as I began to make a running start along with the rest of Alpha for a jump.

"3,2,1, JUMP!" Immediately I pushed my Zaku into the void, using Luna's low gravity to put the Zaku 100 meters in the air. The others followed suit as we crossed the canyon, waiting in anticipation for a response. Some may point out that this maneuver was one that could easily expose my team to enemy fire. Yet at the same time it would reveal the location of the Blue's and allow for a counterattack by us.

"Commander, turn 120 degrees and raise shields for enemy fire! Red-3, Red-4, go 85 degrees and lower vernier!" Shouted Chalia to the rest of the Alpha company. While there was no threat at the moment we did so anyways due to the assumption that this was one of Chalia's Newtype senses that was alerting him to potential danger. Alongside Chalia there were six other Newtypes of the 01st Wing with four being B-ranked Newtypes and two being C-ranked Newtypes. Their addition to the Wing was an interesting experiment to say the least as normal battles were completely changed as ambushes would be expected in advance and attacks from close melee to rifle fire could be dodged with inhuman speed. Despite the headaches it gave the rest of us Oldtypes, the performance of these pilots was crucial in providing data to the Flanagan Institute to start building a program to train the Newtype pilots.

Sure enough Chalia's guess was entirely correct as enemy fire came about 5 seconds later with all four of our Zakus being able to dodge the line of fire and use our shields to block and potential hits. On the monitor the display showed ten Zakus that were led by Lieutenant Commander Schmitzer. _'Yet no sign of Ramba or the other nine zakus.'  
_  
"Alpha team commence attack, Bravo and Charlie proceed to the sector 17! Delta and Epsilon, proceed forward three kilometers and provide rear support. Move in to the combat zone at once if any blue reinforcements show up!"

"Roger!" replied the rest of Red team on comms. After giving my orders I then shifted the Zaku in attack position and pushed the vernier to full throttle in order to engage the Zakus. After seven seconds of acceleration I landed in front of a green and blue Zaku.

"Throwing a frag!" shouted Ensign Carter with the other two then proceeded to launch grenades in unison to cover for my landing. Activating my heat katana, my Zaku runs forward and meets the two. The blue one tries to perry with his own heathawk, creating an opening where I raise my machine gun and take aim, piercing the shoulder (In reality the Zaku took no damage and the armor was completely fine with only a few bents thanks to the dull ammunition. It showed the direct effect of damage in battle however by providing an image in my Zaku's camera of what would have happened with live rounds). Green joins in the fray and tries to rush with a heathawk also, though the sensors manage to pick this up and I move out of the way while slashing directly on the right elbow joint, dishing some heavy damage. The rest of Alpha joins the fray with Bravo and Charlie in pursuit with after flying short vernier boosts and landing nearly a quarter of the mile away, opening fire on the Blues.

The battle turned into an all out brawl as nearly two dozen Zakus began to engage in a combination of melee and short-range dogfights. Had the training taken place on Earth or within a colony instead of the moon then the impact would be devastating. Taking the two Zakus head on, I constantly shift my own in a circle manuever as I jump both in and out of the fray, swinging my katana at the limbs of the mobile suits while taking close shots of the chest and head area. This dance continues on for a few minutes before a Zaku from Epsilon hits the green one straight in the back, causing it to fall over. Pushing the mobile suit as hard as I could, I thrusted the katana into the cockpit of Green (though the dull blade barely makes an impact of a few millimeters before the computer registers a kill), while my left arm launches a plasma grenade at blue who was distracted from the sniper fire across the crater, I then take my katana back into its sheath and fire continuously at blue until it shuts down while the computer registers a kill.

Turning attention back to the battlefield at hand, the tide was increasingly going on our side with only three blue Zaku's remaining while we had taken five losses. The only Blues left were Schmitzer, Cima Garahau (who was locked in engagement with Chalia), and Visch Donaheu (being confronted by both Hardy and Strauss). "I'll take on Schmitzer, the rest of you provide support." The Reds followed my order and backed off from Schmitzer's white and lime Zaku. Schmitzer lifting his shield and charging straight at me. firing round after round with the intention of taking out my cockpit.

We exchange fire for several seconds until getting in close range, where Schmitzer pulls out his heat Longsword which I block with the Katana. The duel begins as we constantly switch from attack to defense with our respective swords. A sequence of thrusts, parry's, and swings occur dozens of times within a minute. Neither one of us either coming close to the kill, or creating an opportunity to switch to our rifles. Eventually the tide begins to turn to my favor as Garcia and Kaminsky come in and provide covering fire, distracting Schmitzer and forcing him to constantly move around. Luckily the lime Zaku manages to step on a large rock and falls backwards, providing me an opening to swipe down on the head and launch a grenade in order to prevent it from rising again.

Backing off form Schmitzer, I then jerk off to the right in order to avoid a stray round. I look back to the others where I find both Donaheau and Garahau's Zaku's lying dead, Cima's apparently being the one that shot me with her rifle pointed in my direction.

"All boogies are down for the count and the area is secure Commander. We lost Carter in the crossfire though. Now its just us and Bravo team." Reported Chalia.

"Commander if I may say so, this seemed a little too easy. I know six Zaku's isn't exactly a low casualty rate, but this feels too much like a red herring." said Steiner

"Yeah but the Sensors aren't showing anything." replied Kaminsky.

"That's because of the Minovsky density you idiot! Why else do you think we can barely see Delta and Epsilon?" retorted Strauss.

 _'Wait! Delta and Epsilon. Oh God no!'_ My fear begins to come true as off in the distance round tracers begin to go off and both rear fireteams report coming under heavy fire.

"Woooheee! It's time to cook us some Raw Red meat boys! Mash, Ortega, Jet Stream Attack!" yelled the rambunctious Gaia on the open channel. Sure enough a zoomed in image on the monoeye showed the three Black Tri-Stars performing their infamous Jet Stream maneuver. While the attack had been recorded and analyzed, and the three even gave tips on it, no other group of pilots within the Wing were quite able to copy the move with the same results and efficiency as those pilots.

Those three were a strange group of people to be sure. While they had no blood relation whatsoever, they treated each other as brothers and acted with nearly the same mannerisms and personalities, if one didn't know they could be suspected of being fraternal triplets. What was the weirdest thing about them is that while each were in the Top 10 in the rankings board, all of their combat performances were at their highest if they only acted as a group together. Their medical records clearly showed that they were Oldtypes, yet their performance as the Tri-Stars was one nearly equal to one.

"Commander Dozle, we must fall back and support Delta and Epsilon." said Chalia.

"Not so fast Bull, it's time to cut down your horns." said a familiar voice on the open channel, Norris Packard. Packard let himself known by shooting Strauss with a direct kill and then jumping onto Chalia, swinging his heatsword at him. Ever since their first duel the two had quickly become intense rivals, often making me and Ramba look like old pals. While they were cordial to one another and acted friendly inside the base, on the battlefield they attacked one another with the ferocity of two predators going in for the kill.

Just as I was about to provide support for Chalia, I felt my Zaku get pushed back into the crater as I began my descent, tumbling furhter into the pit. Luckily I'm able to adjust my verniers and land safely at the bottom, though the suit took around 10% damage. Another Zaku comes to the bottom, this one a navy blue with the personal insignia of Ramba Ral, signalling that he was the one who kicked me in.

I reload my rifle, though the monitor unfortunately shows that I have only three clips left, while Ramba presumably hasn't wasted a bit of his ammunition. _'Damn you Ral.'  
_  
"I must admit Dozle that you had a solid plan there. Things would've been far worse though if Delta and Epsilon weren't so far back. Had you attacked altogether then I would've been screwed. Luckily though I was able to see into your plan. I may be no Newtype but that doesn't mean I can look into the future." Taunted Ramba.

"Remember Ramba that I did kill you nineteen times before today." I reply.

"Yes, but never in this machine. This is no Waff boy, NO WAFF!" _'What a strange battle cry.'_ Ramba then charges forward at me while I respond guns blazing, firing off my rifle at him while running forward as well.

Dozens of rounds are fired at Ramba, yet the man manages to evade almost all of them with his verniers, only taking slight damage on the chasis for a few. I launch my last remaining plasma grenades which do have some effect, though Ramba begins firing at me and my suit begins to take heavy damage. Unfortunately right as we're within 50 meters of each other, my clip runs dry and I find out that I've used all my ammunition. Having no other choice I lift my heat katana and move forward as if I were a Japanese samurai fighting in his last moments. Ramba continues his fire which tears up a good part of the chest and would've made it through the cockpit with a few lucky rounds, luckily I was able to lunge and swing my katana to cut Ramba's rifle in half. Ramba throws away his gun and takes out his heathawk to strike, with only seconds remaining and my next actions determining life or death, I put my Zaku's left arm in the heathawk's attack, sacrificing it to the blade. This created a small opening to Ramba's cockpit which allowed me to thrust the katana forward and push it through the cockpit, earning a kill on Ramba's Zaku. Before I have time to bask in the victory of my rival, the comms open up again.

"Lord Dozle I would advise for you to surrender. The rest of Red Team has been eliminated and you are the only one that's left. There's no sense in fighting a pointless battle." Said Norris on the open channel. I shifted my gaze from Ramba and sure enough Norris was right on the edge of the crater and pointing his Gatling gun at me. The Black Tri-Stars, Lieutenant Grayson, and Petty Officer Oliver were around positioned around the rim of the crater with their weapons locked on me. The fact that they were focusing on myself and I couldn't receive any friendly signals meant that the rest must've been killed. I checked my Zaku's display which showed that the suit was at 82% damage. While I could somehow make my way out and probably take one, maybe two Zaku's at the most, it would only be a direct miracle to mow down the rest of the Blues.

Sighing morbidly in defeat, I lift the Zaku's arms up and power it down. "I surrender!" I say on the channel.

"Battle Complete. Blue Team victorious 6-1."


	26. The Origin of Newtypes

**December 8th, 0069. Side 3. Kaiser Gihren POV  
**  
After Degwin's coronation I had feared that things would begin to take a turn for the crazy in my personal life (well beyond how it usually is for Gihren) and that I'd have to undergo a bunch of ridiculous court customs as the role of the heir to the Principality. Surprisingly things were relatively quiet after the coronation and nothing of much had happened besides the Zaku-I's on Granada having completed their final initial testing. Besides the standard hoopla that would come with such an historic occasion in the first week or two, things had settled down in Zeon since then and everyone was going on with their normal lives, now focusing on the Christmas season and what gifts to give. I guess I should be grateful to the fact that we've managed to keep Zeon on a Populist-serving track instead of turning it into some sort of dictatorship like in the show. While the Zabis were now royalty and essential rulers for life over the people of Side 3, we were simply continuing the job we had done before and as long as the people of Zeon received what they were promised from the Zabis then they wouldn't expect too much in return.

Thankfully the past month was quiet for a whole other reason as the Federation decided not to intervene in Side 3 and try and kick us out. With the clear billion vote in the referendum for the establishment of the Principality and the presence of multiple third-parties who supported that there was no tampering with the vote. Oh there was plenty of fuss from the politicians on how Zeon was handing itself over to a dictator and were freely eliminating their civil liberties, but there weren't any Federal fleets that had been sent to the dark side of the moon to finish us off. Kycillia had reported some shifting of capitol in the financial sector and Jamitov stretching dealings with various Terran corporations, though there was nothing of immediate threat to Zeon or its people. _'All the better that we have more quiet days like this. The longer peace reigns then the better the chance of us emerging victorious in the war.'_

While I would take the time to go on a vacation while everything is quiet, duty called and so I had to continue my work. Yesterday I had received an email from Anton Flanagan, founder of the Flanagan Institute, asking for an important face-to-face meeting at his offices in the Institute. The details of the email were extremely vague with an important paragraph stressing the need for eyes only coverage of information that he had recently uncovered. In many ways this fear was unnecessary the government servers used for Zeon had been newly installed by the OSS and were built from Cyberware Incorporated, Zeon's leading computer firm who I had made sure to leak designs of 21st century computers in the tech leaks. Though there was a good reason for this as the new servers and hardware were still fresh and few outside of the company and OSS had an accurate know-how of their operations. It wouldn't be too hard for Jamitov to try and steal information from a few leaked emails so it was better to go through the hassle than risk a breach.

This was why I was in a state limo a few minutes away from the Institute right now, Cecilia being my only company in the passenger compartment. Degwin had offered to come as well but I didn't see any need to procure him away from time with Garma so I volunteered to go myself and fill in the rest of the family later. "What exactly do you think Doctor Flanagan wants to show today Gihren?" asked Cecilia.

I shrugged my shoulders in response. "Your guess is as good as mine. All that I had to guess upon is that Flanagan's email said and I quote,My latest findings have led me to believe that if published we could potentially see major social unrest and a large economic crisis in the near future." Cecilia raised her eyebrows at this, failing to see the connection like how I did on how Newtypes can both ruin the economy and add major social unrest, though the latter would mostly like be caused by Feddie hysteria. "I know that it's a really big stretch to go for, but Flanagan is the leading figure in this research and thanks to him we're able to understand Newtype far better than just, 'move to space and we all get psychic powers and become friends.' I'll at least see what he has to say first before any disbelief." Cecilia nodded at this, having been satisfied by my answer.

While the OVA's and Zeta like to portray Anton Flanagan as a mad scientist with his Newtype experiments, the person that I personally knew had a far different persona as a kind and caring man with a thirst for knowledge and drive to made sure his research would become accessible to all. I had theorized that this drastic change in personality may have been brought about shortly before the One Year war thanks to Flanagan's desperation with no one believing in his research and the Zabis providing the only way of support through the weaponization of Newtypes. Thanks to my support a decade earlier and Newtypes now being fully aware by the public, this would be prevented and Flanagan could truly make Newtypes a viable part of society. Even though it's only been a year since research began, so much progress had already been made with finding out the scope of a Newtype's abilities and prowress and finding them particular career fields that could suit their abilities. Of course potential conflicts flared up in Zeon over fears of Newtypes making the Oldtypes obsolete, but so far Newtypes have been found to be only slightly more enhanced than Oldtypes and their overall performance lying only in particular talents; say Amuro's mechanics and Char's ability to pilot a mobile suit.

Since we were still some time away from arriving I decided to make some small talk with Cecilia, "So Cecilia, are you doing anything for Christmas?" This question apparently shocked Cecilia who lightly gasped and looked away. _'Is it something personal?'_ "You know like with your family?" Cecilia looked relieved at this and turned to face me, "Oh nothing much, just having some relatives over on Christmas Eve and then opening presents the next day. Our family has never really done anything too big besides some trips within the colony. There was one time where we went on a vacation to Side 6 a couple of years ago. Nowadays though I think the Tourism Bureau has far more to offer within Zeon then the other colonies. Any illustrious celebrations planned for the Royal family?" she asks.

"Well we were planning for a potential trip to the Texas colony" _'Sadly not the real Texas, don't know if I'll ever get to visit home again.'_ "Though recent protests against the formation of the Principality for letting us 'Space Nazis' come into power have cancelled that. We'll probably make some sort of trip around Side 3 and stay within the manor, asides from a party at the Deikuns. I did get some dogs for the family though, a beagle and a German Shepherd. Last week I went to the animal shelter to go find one for Garma as a Christmas present, but these two dogs latched onto me when I had saw them and I felt guilty for leaving them alone in such a place for a whole month, so instead I decided to bring them home as an early present.

"I take it Lady Kycillia wasn't too amused with an animal in the house?"

"No, not in the slightest, all the more reason to get a dog in my humble opinion. Of course there wasn't really anything she could do since Garma practically begged father for us to keep them and he relented. Their both family dogs though Garma claimed the beagle as his own who he named Snoopy at my suggestion."

"Please don't tell me you named your German Shepherd Blondi."

"God no, I already get enough people calling me a Neo-Nazi as it is. It's actually a boy though and his name is Jaeger, though he does seem to have formed a close connection with father, seems to follow him around wherever he goes and sometimes lays at his feet in the office. I'm sure someone on the internet will make a stupid joke about it."

There was a knock on the window and the two Royal Guardsmen signaled that we had arrived at the Institute. I stepped outside, offering Cecilia a hand out afterwords, and we both walked into the place with a small retinue of guardsmen at least a few meters behind. The Institute itself was a rather large complex with three square kilometers, along with multiple buildings ranging from laboratories to schoolhouses to try and teach Newtypes ranging from young children to adults on how to master their Newtype powers. If I had to describe the Institute in one phrase then it would definitely be the X-Men in space.

I walked through the hallways in a few minutes en route to Doctor Flanagan's office. The interior of the Institute was a flurry of activity that one would expect within an American university with students and facility trying to cross through and get to their destinations, many absentmindedly focused on whatever tasks they were performing. There was much recognition and fuss being made over my appearance, though luckily the appearance of the guards deterred a scene from being created. At last we were able to reach our destination and I stepped into Doctor Flanagan's office. "What's up doc." I said.

Contrary to what one might expect of a scientist, the office that I entered was anything but orderly and well-kept. Inside there were stacks of paper cluttered around the space, some research notes other designs for potential projects in the making. Various types of machines and trinkets also lay about here and there, which I guessed were for the purpose of Newtype identification and measuring their powers. In the center was a mahogany desk where the doctor was sitting at work. After a few seconds he shifted focus to me, "Ah, Lord Gihren! So sorry for the mess, I keep on meaning to clean it up but then some new research pops up and well I can't ever get to it."

"You do know that the Institute has a janitorial staff right Doctor?" asked Cecilia.

"I can't have some minimum-wage cleaner come here and go through my work. Some dunce could mistake one of my grand designs as a piece of garbage and throw it away, I also can't exactly have someone take a peek at any of my theory's. The Terrans already try and steal whatever I don't publish and I won't let some upstart have their way." said Flanagan. While Kycillia had made sure that Federal Intelligence wouldn't get anywhere near the Institute, there were always people sent from other fledgling organizations across the Earth sphere to try and see what the good doctor had. Most disturbing were the reports about Murasume and Augusta who seemed to not only be going after the Institute, but were making their own breakthroughs as well. _'God help us if they ever think about creating Cyber Newtypes.'  
_  
"I guess that's the reason why you brought us here isn't it, so that you no one else can learn about this terrible secret that can ruin the economy and cause massive unrest?" I asked with a bit of sarcasm, though Flanagan didn't seem to notice it.

"Oh right, my recent findings. You see recently I had begun a project trying to solve Deikun's Ascension theory, that once humanity moves to space our latent abilities will blossom in order to adapt to the void and we shall all understand one another without misconceptions. The results that I had come up with were somewhat...disturbing to say the least. Nothing apocalyptic that would bring the end of the Earth sphere mind you, just something that could become a huge issue later on if not handled right."

"And did you think that sharing this information within the capitol was too much of a risk, even with all the security?" I inquired.

"Let's just say Lord Gihren that when it comes to my work, I don't take any chances. The capitol may be one of the most secure buildings in the Principality, but that didn't exactly stop Jimba Ral from storming it. Flanagan said, bringing up bad memories of the shootout. "I apologize if I may have offended you."

"No worries, let's just get this over with." I said, wanting to get this done and exactly see what all the fuss is about. Flanagan led us to an unused conference room, bringing his laptop along with him and hooking it up to the projector. The Guards stayed outside on watch while Cecilia and I entered.

"Gihren is it really necessary to bring your Chief of Staff in, I had asked for a one-on-one meeting for today?" Cecilia tried to leave the room at the Doctor's remark, though I motioned her to stop.

"Cecilia is a valued member of my staff and someone who has been given clearance to a number of Zeon's classified operations and materials. I brought her here today as a confidant in order to help plan on whatever response is needed to these revelations. If she cannot be present then I don't see the need to be here over paranoia. Cecilia looked at me with a smile on her face for the compliments and I nodded back. showing my support.

"Well...whatever, just don't take notes of any kind. When you have decided to fill in Lord Degwin on what has happened today then I'll submit my findings to your office. Come and take a seat." I sat down in the middle of the conference table while Cecilia was positioned at my right. Flanagan turned off the lights and began his presentation. "Today we are going to be talking about the Origins of Newtypes." _'Fucking finally!'_ For nearly three years I've been dying to find out just what is the cause behind the whole Newtype phenomenon. While Yoshiyuki Tomino may have been a good storyteller, he was borderline mediocre in the worldbuilding of Gundam. Newtype powers were hardly shown in the original show until 3/4ths of the way through with Lalah and were barely explained beyond the usual magic space wizards. While this could be excusable for the original show, in the expanded universe and lore no thought was even given to their powers, less how they were made.

"Doctor why exactly would the creation of Newtypes be such a source of controversy? The Federation already likes to freak out over every piece of information, I don't see why exactly this would be anything special." said Cecilia.

"It's not exactly the process itself that is the problem here, but the start of the process that is troubling. First Gihren I must ask you, how knowledgeable are you on Minovsky Physics?" Well that seemed entirely out of left field.

"I have an understanding of the process behind it, specifically how the production of Helium-3 creates Minovsky particles which in turn causes the Minovsky effect. Then there's the Minovsky reactor itself and how it compares to the old process of using solely uranium and plutonium for nuclear fission. I don't exactly see what purposes it has beyond energy production and communications."

"Ah yes, but you see Lord Gihren, Minovsky physics is so much more. You see among the Newtype research community, Zeon Deikun remains a polarizing figure among us. On one hand the entire idea of Newtypes would not even exist without his revolutionary vision and in a world without Deikun it's more than likely no one would begin to even notice the Newtype phenomenon until the 0100's. Yet while we do admire him for giving birth to the Newtype ideal, it's the way that he went about it that was rather...unprofessional to say the least." The presentation then shifted to some clips of Deikun's early days as a leader among Side 3. "As we all know Deikun had believed that by humanity moving to space we would all evolve towards Newtypes one day and achieve a sort of psuedo-enlightenment with humanity forming a collective of sorts where our minds are linked together through Newtype waves. Now this endgoal itself is somewhat probable and an ample discussion for another day, but it's the whole process that is murky. Nine billion humans live within space in this current time and yet out of all of them only an estimated 200-300 million have become Newtypes. Based on demographics with the number of second and third generation colonists having been born in the Sides, Newtypes should be in the billions rather than the small numbers that they currently are. This led to a revelation that I had uncovered at the start of this process, that Newtypes are not a simple by-product of natural evolution."

This was somewhat disturbing, the mood had become slightly grim in the room as Cecilia and I had looked to each other in uncertainty of what had just been espoused. "But Newtypes only began to be reported among the colonies and almost all Newtypes are reported as Spacenoids. Wouldn't it make sense that Newtype powers came from adapting to the great void." Cecilia asked, though uncertain since Newology (the study of Newtypes) wasn't her field.

"One can draw a basic conclusion from that information alone but simple biology does not say so. In 2005 a professor at the University of Oregon by the name of Eric Schneider came up with what is now accepted today as Schneider's Law. Schneider's Law is a rule that is built off of Darwinism which states that humanity has now reached a technological stage where our biological evolution is no longer determined in a natural process by the environment, rather it is based off of what we chose to inflict upon ourselves and the conditions that we create. A basic example is how North Africans no would no longer biologically adapt to the scorching heat of the Sahara since the invention of Air conditioning provides them with a cool environment that keeps the body in homeostasis. Other examples including heating in Siberia, elimination of the need for swimming by destroying nearby bodies of water, Using protective gear to traverse forest and mountains instead of allowing our bodies to adapt, etc. Nowhere else is this true than within the colonies. Had the Sides built colonies in the same manner as the early space stations with an entirely artificial environment made out of steel and no presence of gravity, then it might be possible for Newtypes to develop as once thought of by Deikun. This is prevented with our usage of O'Neill cylinders which recreate a Terran environment almost perfectly and give off the conditions of a controlled pleasant environment that does not require a need of adapting. Lunarians are of course the exception to this with their low gravity, though the miniscule demographics on Luna compared to the Sides does not provide enough data."

I nodded my head in understanding. Everything so far seemed to make sense and it eliminated the majority of flaws on the presentation of Newtypes within the show. "There's also the reports of Newtypes that regularly come from Earth so that of course debunks Zeon's theories since even in the hypothetical scenario where Spacenoids do adapt to the void in a sense of evolution, there would be no need for the Terrans to experience the same thing." I said. Flanagan promptly snapped his fingers and and pointed towards me in acknowledgment.

"And that right there is the key, Terran Newtypes. Something that should be impossible according to Zeon Deikun. Yet despite the Federation's best efforts in the Institute from going planetside, we can at least estimate that there are millions of Newtype on Earth. That led me to one of the two key pieces of the puzzle. The first being the existence of Amuro Ray." I lit up my eyes in surprise. While Amuro of course was the protagonist of the Universal Century and his actions in the One Year war did lead to the discovery of Newtypes, I didn't think that he could lead to the origins of the Newtypes themselves.

"Isn't he the son of Tem Ray and also the main reason that he had to defect to Zeon in the first place?" Cecilia asked me.

"Yes he is. According to Doctor Ray the Federation were beginning some tests to find high-value Newtypes, and Amuro ranked pretty high according to what they had designated. That led to the Ray family joining Zeon and Tem becoming the leading figure of the Zaku series. Though from conversations with the Doctor he hasn't really gone any sort of training with the Institute for rather understandable reasons."

"A damn shame in my opinion. Thankfully Mr. and Mrs. Ray allowed me to perform the initial Newtype screening tests on their son, and what I received was truly remarkable." Doctor Flanagan then pulled up chart's of which I presume were Amuro's Newtype waves. "To the unassuming eye this may seem to be the normal statistics for a Newtype, but it is far more than that. To be quite blunt Amuro Ray is one of, if not the most powerful Newtype I have ever seen in terms of raw potential and dormant abilities. The only person I know that is even close to him is my young pupil Lalah Sune, a young girl that I had managed to rescue from the slums of Side 6 whose can use high amounts of high amounts of Telepathy and Empathy. Yes, before you ask miss Irene those are real it's just that a majority of Newtypes are not even close to capable of projecting that kind of energy, which is why I don't like to wave it around in public eye in case a panic is caused." Doctor Flanagan said to Cecilia who was about to ask a question, and look rather flabbergasted at this sudden piece of information. I had kept a rather straight poker face since I had received personal reports of this from Flanagan of Lalah and others exhibiting special powers for a while now, in addition to my obvious knowledge of the show. "Upon observing Amuro's potential and the fact that he had not stepped one foot in space before immigrating to Side 3, I just knew that I had to get to the bottom of this. For if Earth can produce this powerful of a Newtype then exactly what type of future can humanity expect.

For months I had been searching for the answers of this problem. We had come close several times but there were no definite solutions beyond some simple theories. Then about a month ago I was attending a a TED conference in Zum City to show my latest work on integrating Newtypes into society and their role in the future. After my presentation I had stayed around for Professor Minovsky who explained how Minovsky physics has been a part of our lives for centuries rather than a newfound concept. What particularly caught my eye was his research which showed how the Minovsky effect has become more prominent with an exponential increase since the start of the Universal Century thanks to the fallout of Helium-3 production. It hasn't really been noticed by now since the Minovsky reactor utilizes the potential of Helium-3 to the fullest, which results in a concentrated and enhanced production of Minovsky particles as a whole. During the presentation I noticed a startling resemblance to my work where the natural increase of Minovsky particles within the Earth sphere followed the same pattern as the number of Newtypes based on current demographics and historical estimates on deceased persons who may have exhibited Newtype qualities. To be sure I approached Trenov after the show and invited him to the Institute to see if there was a total correlation. After two weeks of experiments we were both positive, Minovsky particles are the catalyst for Newtypes."

Upon the revelation of Flanagan's results the room became silent for a whole minute, it was so quiet that you could practically hear a pin drop. I took some time to reflect on what this new information meant. While not seeming to be so important at first, the fact that Minovsky particles can create Newtypes changed everything in the Universal Century. During the One Year war both Zeon and the Federation were using M-particles in the same unrestricted manner as Gandhi with nuclear weapons in Civilization. With practically everyone in the Earth sphere becoming exposed to Minovsky particles then that meant that their children would become Newtypes. Eventually this would lead to Newtypes overtaking the Oldtypes as the majority, probably being a major reason why the Federation ceased to exist in all but name by Victory Gundam. "Doctor, are...are you saying that by being exposed to Minovsky particles one can become a Newtype?" I asked, desperately needing some clarification on the issue. _'Hopefully this is not like that Innovator bullshit in 00.'_

"No, it is not as simple where being exposed to Minovsky particles can turn someone into a Newtype as one has to be a Newtype at birth, there are no natural means of suddenly becoming a Newtype." _'But Cyber Newtypes will become a thing eventually, even if I try my best to prevent that.'_ I thought grimly. "To confirm this I used an Oldtype test subject where I had confined them in a room with a 100% Minovsky concentration for a day to see the results. Testing during and after the experiment showed that alongside no biological side effects, the brain activity that usually appears within a Newtype did not show up. My hypothesis is rather that the greater the exposure to Minovsky particles, than the greater the chance that a person's offspring may have of becoming a Newtype. Studies have backed this up with the number of Newtype newborns within Zeon for the past year having increased at a rate of 500%. 0069 is also the same year in which the Minovsky reactor became officially adopted by the Department of Energy thanks to you and your father's efforts. So in a way Lord Gihren I suppose I have you to thank for the Newtype boom." _'Thanks Doc.'_

"There are also numerous historic examples within the late 20th century and the 21st century of Newtype emergence thanks to the release of Minovsky particles from the decay of Tritium, the radioactive isotope which Helium-3 on Earth is produced from. This was especially true in the Cold War with widespread nuclear weapons testing and the low safety regulations held back then. Perhaps the first notable example of Newtype creation being in 1986-1987 with the children of Europe whose parents may have been partly exposed to the fallout of Chernobyl. According to my estimates around 15,000 Newtypes were born within the year 1987 with perhaps the greatest and most powerful example being Maria Yevdokymenko. Maria is a Saint within the Russian Orthodox Church who was canonized in UC 0032 thanks to her supposed miracles where she had healed numerous refugees of their conditions in the Third World War. These powers may have been in fact from her latent Newtype abilities alongside other known traits that she espoused such as a heightened personal connection towards others and greater precognition."

"You can't possibly mean that all the Saints and holy persons over the years are Newtypes?!" I exclaimed.

"No, I never said that. Because of the relation of a Newtype's powers to the soul I have been doing some joint research with Theologians of different religions, including Cardinal Wood of St. John Paul's that you attend Gihren. Most historical evidence points out to a large majority of professed holy persons that have had some type of miracle attributed to them shows that they did not have the specific traits which could classify them as a Newtypes. Newtypes only really began to show in greater numbers after the start of the Nuclear Age in Hiroshima so only a few of these people since the turn of the millennium, Saint Joseph of Von Braun being one of them, could be Newtypes. I highly doubt that Jesus was a Newtype, there would've only been less than a hundred during that Age at best." I breathed a sigh of relief at that piece of information. I was really glad that I didn't have to experience some sort of crisis of faith. It would've been extremely disturbing since Minovsky physics do not exist in any form back in my previous life.

"In regards to the potential economic fallout and social unrest that you had previously hinted at Doctor, I presume that you are referring to the current adoption of the Minovsky reactor throughout the Earth sphere as the creation of nuclear energy correct? I think I can see now how the Earth sphere would break down. Paranoid Terrans would not be able to comprehend that Newtypes occur naturally thanks to Minovsky particles and would seek to undo this process entirely. Presumably the other Sides would follow suit and also try and get Minovsky reactors. With nearly the entirety of the Earth sphere having them in place by next year however, then Trillions of dollars would have gone down the drain and people would become suspicious of nuclear energy as a whole, even though it is the lifeblood of the Spacenoids." Cecilia deducted to which Flanagan nodded.

Unlike Anno Domini Gundam which had solar power as the basis of energy production, the Universal Century relied almost entirely on nuclear energy with a 91% production rate and the rest being made up of Solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal; the latter four exclusively taking place on Earth. In my time as Colonial Secretary I had to deal with the Department of Energy on a near daily basis as nuclear energy was the entire reason that the Sides existed since it was the only form of energy which would be able to sustain the O'Neill cylinders and the nine billion people that inhabit them. Minovsky reactors were practically a godsend for the Spacenoids since they provide tens of Gigawatts to power the colonies and were currently the safest form of nuclear production. Even the Federation despite their xenophobia towards Zeon tech, were freely adopting the Minovsky reactor as it would help them just as equally as us.

"So now you can see why I could not allow this to go public. Currently the only people who actively know of the theory are my team of closest researchers on campus, Professor Minovsky, and you two. I don't doubt that the someone within the Federation may come to this conclusion one day, something I hope happens under the best of circumstances. Sometime in the future I will have to release my findings on the issue though. That's why I need the Zabis help. If Lord Degwin could perhaps find someway to prepare Zeon's economy for the worst case scenario in a backlash against Minovsky physics, and break it to the public in a way that would not cause social unrest, then I would be most grateful." I put my hands together with close thought on how to move forward. I don't think that Degwin or the rest of the family would be too surprised or shock at this information, honestly with what's happened in the past year almost nothing could cause a Zabi any true astonishment. This changed everything however since it meant that Zeon Deikun's vision for the Universal Century is alive and well and that during our lifetimes we may see the rise of Newtypes as the norm for humanity. Even if none of this ever manages to come out, the effects will still go forward, especially if the war becomes a reality.

I stood up and shook the Doctor's hand, "Thank you Doctor Flanagan for this starting information. While I may not have the answers to this scenario yet, I will try to do my best to find a way to move forward in the future. Later today I'll speak personally with my father and inform him and the rest of the family on these matters. If necessary I might send Kycillia over in the next couple of weeks as she would know best how to protect and guard this information, and prevent any Feddie discoveries or overreactions on the subject."

"I couldn't ask for anything more Lord Gihren, thank you for taking your time to come here. And do feel free to visit the Institute whenever you wish, we are always grateful for the patronage of the Zabi family." Cecilia and I promptly left the Institute and proceeded back towards the capitol. Most of the rise there was spent in silence, halfway in the trip Cecilia finally broke the ice on what was kept out of the conversation at Flanagan.

"Gihren, if what Minovsky is saying is true then that means that the extensive usage of Minovsky particles in space warfare and the fielding of mobile suits are only going to make the situation a greater reality for Zeon." Cecilia pointed out, especially with how the millions of veterans will probably have Newtype kids. _'At least we know why Mineva exists.'_

"I know exactly. We've already gone too deep though and to turn back now would undo all of our efforts to prepare for a coming war against the Federation. Even if we win that war in total victory, then I fear that the old world will be forever dead."

 **December 24th, 0069. Deikun Manor. Third Person POV  
**  
In the Deikun Manor a small Christmas gathering was going about. It was a relatively light affair contrary to what many would believe such an esteemed family as the Deikuns would throw, for it was far more personal for involving close family friends rather than a bunch of pedigreed nobles with little more than money to their name. Some high mentioned names were present of course with the Zabi family itself being in attendance. Though instead of business and politics being discussed, the focus was more casual on personal affairs and light-hearted experiences in the spirit of the holiday. In the living room by the Christmas tree were a father and son, Tem and Amuro Ray. Young Amuro was nervously fidgeting while holding a bright green box, a Christmas gift, while his father was kneeling beside him, trying to give him a bout of encouragement. "Son you're being worked up over nothing. Just go over there, say Merry Christmas, and hand over the present. It's that simple. Nothing to it."

Amuro didn't feel the same way as his father and mumbled a few words before coming up with a response. "Dad you don't know what it's like for me, I've never done this before!" exclaimed Amuro. While he had usually taken part in Christmas gift giving in the past, they were usually done mostly as a part of his family gift with his mother and father and Amuro never had to do anything besides scribble on the card. It was his first time ever giving a personal gift. "What if she doesn't like it anyways?"

Upon the asking of Amuro's question, his father Tem let out a light chuckle due to his son's anxiety. _'Geez was I this nervous when I met Kamaria.'_ The doctor thought. "So you think she's not going to like her own model of the invention that the two of you spent months working on?" When Tem had said that Amuro had put his head down in a bit of shame for his stupidity. He had truly wanted to go and give the gift, but his partially low-self esteem and anxiety was getting the better of him. Seeing that his son was having such hard trouble, Tem decided to coax him into going along with it. "Well since you don't want to give the gift to Artesia then I suppose that I'll be the one to walk over and claim that I had done it myself." Tem said, then reaching to the box slowly as if to grab it.

Upon hearing his father's idea, Amuro swiftly shifted the present outside of his father's reach. That action alone would be more embarrassing than any situation Amuro could've come up with and he would never let it go. Taking some newfound courage and resolving to do it himself, Amuro stepped forward. "No thanks Dad. I'll do it after all." Amuro then proceeded to strut forward to the intended recipient of the gift, Tem watching with a smile on his face due to being proud of Amuro's courage, as minuscule as it might seem to an onlooker.

Amuro walked across the living room to the person whom he would give his gift, Artesia Deikun. Moving to Zeon had been an exciting, yet rather hectic period of Amuro's life. While he didn't have any friends or many close personal attachments on Earth, it was still a rather uneasy experience for the young Newtype in getting adjusted to a whole new life. His parents never really explained to Amuro why they had suddenly moved beyond some vague talks about them not liking their jobs anymore and going for new one's at Zeon. Having to start fresh in a whole new environment with absolutely no one to know outside of his family was something Amuro dreaded for quite a while. Then on the first day of his new school Artesia had decided to open herself up to him and offer a form of friendship, something that Amuro had never truly experienced on Earth. Since that first day they had become the best of friends and Artesia helped him to open up to the rest of his classmates at school who came to accept the Terran immigrant. Amuro wanted to repay all of that for his first Christmas, to thank the one person who taught him what it meant to have a friend.

After a few second Amuro stopped when he came within his friend's vicinity. Artesia sat down on one of the chairs and was wearing a bright pink dress and matching shoes. Artesia was considered to be pretty by most of her peers and several adults at the party commented that she would grow to become a beautiful young lady. Amuro too was entranced by his friend's appearance, blushing slightly, though he did not know exactly why. Close beside Artesia was her older brother Casval and his best friend Garma Zabi, prince of Zeon. The two appeared to be talking about their possible futures in the military with Artesia mildly engaged in the conversation. Amuro tried to come up with an introduction but luckily Artesia noticed him standing in front of her, "Oh hi Amruo, do you like the party?" Amuro nodded slightly, Artesia then shifted her attention to the green box that was in his hands. "Oh you got a present. who's it from?" Behind her Casval and Garma noticed what Amuro's intentions were and decided to back off a little bit watching events unfold.

Amuro muttered a bit before handing the present out, "Actually I got this present for you. You can open it right now if you want, I asked your mom and she said it was okay." Artesia thanked her friend and then took the present, ripping the wrapping paper into multiple pieces without much care into the process. She opened the box and was incredibly shocked at its contents. "Is that.."

"Haro! Haro!" A large pink mechanical ball came out of the box and started bouncing up and down. Artesia formed a huge smile as she realized that this was a second Haro that was slightly different than the first. "Amuro you made this for me?"

He nodded, "I know how much you like to play with Haro so I decided to make another one for you to have at home when I'm not around. I made it all by myself and it's just as same as the first one, but with some minor improvements in speech." In most of December Amuro had been hard at work on the project, his father occasionally chipping in to fix any bugs in the software. Amuro was never proficient in making any creations outside of mechanics so he figured that this would be the best possible gift thanks to the fact that Artesia liked the first Haro so much.

Amuro then became overwhelmed as Artesia jumped onto him in a tight hug, "Thanks Amuro! This is the best Christmas ever!"

Wanting to have some fun with the moment, Casval decided to take a piece of mistletoe that had been lying around and raise it on top of the two. "Look Garma, it seems we have some certain Christmas traditions that need to be fulfilled."

While both Amuro and Artesia were young they knew exactly what a mistletoe meant, both quickly escaped from each other's grasp with a blush of bright red on their checks. Artesia went up to Casval and started playfully hitting him, "Cas, stop being annoying! I'm only seven I can't kiss any boys yet."

Both Casval and Garma started laughing at the two's embarrassment. "Honestly Casval you're way too mean to your little sister sometimes."

"Garma, as an older brother it is my sacred duty to cause grief for me little sister. If I didn't then the world would be a boring place."

From a short distance away Tem and Kamaria Ray, along with Astraia Deikun, looked on fondly at the group of children. Kamaria and Astraia were currently in a conversation about how cute it would be for their children to become a couple in the far future. Tem let his smile go for a second as he could've sworn that he saw Gihren Zabi look at his son with a playful smirk while he was talking to his father, Degwin Zabi. While Gihren had been a close supporter of Tem Ray in Zeonic and he was responsible for his families success in Zeon, the Prime Minister seemed to take a keen interest in Amuro and would frequently ask of him. Tem knew that Gihren was not a malicious man and he had promised not to put Amuro through anything the Federation would do, he was still uneasy however at exactly what plans he seemed to have for his son. Tem quickly shock these thoughts aside and tried to return to the light mood of the party. Whatever will happen in Amuro's future, Tem was just glad for now that his son was happy and that he had someone of his own age whom he could be with.

Little did the parents of the two know that a growing bond had been strengthened immensely that day with just a simple act of kindness. A bond that can only be experienced by the powers of Newtype and would come to help the two grow together dramatically over the coming years. One that would be tested in incredible lengths in the coming war.

 **A/N: So everyone that's my theory as to the formation of Newtypes. In canon according to Zeon Deikun a Newtype is created by moving to space where their latent abilities will blossom. However this is something that I perceive to be false as people don't gain Newtype abilities by living in space, but they are born with them. And there are numerous examples of Terran Newtypes such as Amuro, Revil, Jerid, Quess, Matilda, Icelina, Riddhe, etc. So the theory doesn't necessarily stick true here. This is simply me version of how a Newtype is created and the one that makes the most sense as Newtypes only start becoming noticed by the public after the creation of the Minovsky reactor. In 0096 this causes Though like Flanagan stated in the chapter, Minovsky particles are only a partial catalyst to the creation of Newtypes based on demographics and correlation. More will be expanded upon later in my attempts to do what Tomino never bothered to fully explain and delve fully into the Newtype mythos. Hope this was a good reason for how Newtypes came to be and if anyone has a problem with it then feel free to comment and give critique. Just to be clear though, Minovsky particles are a catalyst for Newtypes that increase the chances of a Newtype being born. Just because someone is exposed to Minovsky particles heavily it does not mean their children are 100% guaranteed to become Newtypes. Oldtype children will still be a thing after the One Year war.**

 **Also for some people who may wonder why I decided to add in the Ray-Deikun Christmas scene, well let's just say that something big is going to happen in a couple of updates and that this scene is important buildup to character events that are to come. If it's not in Chapter 27 then what I'm talking about will be in 28 or 29. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more. Sieg Zeon!**


	27. To be a Ral

**January 26th, 0070. Luna. Ramba Ral POV**

Walking through the halls of the Hades maximum security prison was perhaps one of the most intense experiences of my life. Everywhere I went there were guards and cameras watching my every move, just waiting, no expecting me to make some sort of action. The looks that some of the guards gave me seemed like they wanted me to be the one behind bars instead of walking through here a free man. It wasn't too hard to understand why. Hades was the place where Zeon sent the worst of the worst, men and women who would've received the death penalty had it been legal before the Zabis introduced it in the middle of last year. With such a dangerous amount of people gathered into one place, the OSS was heavily involved in its upkeep which meant that many people had probably been sent here by the direct command of Kycillia. The famed Iron Princess herself still seemed to hate me with a passion due to simply being the spawn of my father. _'Despite the fact that I did save two of her brother's lives.'_ Today's visit to here and the person who I intended to see wouldn't do anything at all beyond raising more suspicion and paranoia from her due to my intentions.

The hallways themselves were clean and orderly, not a speck of dust anywhere to be seen. Unlike most prisons Hades was a quiet place as the staff would not tolerate any of the prisoners fraternizing and thus kept them inside of their cells at all times. The place reminded me much of the base back at Granada, only instead of having a slightly warm welcome to it, this place had an atmosphere of utter dread and depression.

I was led into a small room that was empty save a medium-sized table and two chairs, a camera in the room watching my every move. The room was stark white with the exception of a black wall which was most likely a one-way mirror. Promptly after my entrance a man of Indian descent in a black tux followed in and took a seat, I sat opposite of him. The man's name was Vivek Jahar, the state lawyer responsible for setting up the meeting.

Jahar pulled out some documents and laid them flat on the table. "Commander Ral, today at 3:00 P.M on January 26th, 0070 of the Universal Century, a meeting shall commence between yourself and Convict 185673. As allowed in the Judicial Civil Rights Act of 0062, you are allowed a total of one hour speaking time with the convict to discuss the purpose of the meeting. At approximately 4:00 P.M you are to cease any and all conversation with the convict regardless of the the state of the talks. Be advised that everything and anything that you two discuss shall be monitored by the warden. In the event that a hostile situation arises or yourself and the defendant shall bring up a topic that shall jeopardize the safety of the facility and the state of Zeon in general, then all talks shall cease at once and you shall be forcibly removed from the premises. Future visits shall be allowed though they must be permitted with clearance by the state. Sign at the bottom and we shall begin talks."

I looked forward through the documents briefly just to make sure that nothing fishy was abound. After checking that everything was in order I signed the paper and handed it back to Jahar, who took it and then left the room. Following that a minute of waiting proceeded until one of the guards came in with the criminal.

The man's face had changed much when I last saw him. Whereas before he had grey hair, his hair and bear now was as white as snow, most likely due to the stress of being in captivity. He had also lost a large amount of weight and instead of being obese he was noticeably slimmer, without a hint of muscle. What was most noticeable about the person sitting before me was how his eyes were full of a deep well of hatred, where once upon a time they looked upon me with love. 'How could it have gone to this, that I had to not only stop you but make sure you were put behind bars.'

Silence reigned for a few moments, though to myself it seemed like an eternity. Then he finally spoke, "Son." said Jimba Ral with a hateful snarl.

"Father." I said with an equal amount of disgust.  
 **  
October 23rd, 0069. Zum City.**

Club Eden had a lot of fond memories for me. It was a place where I was able to escape from the cutthroat politics in the capitol, the demands of the Army, and just unwind and be myself. Most of all it was the place where I met Crowley, and if it wasn't for her I don't even know if I could be half the man I am today. However while I would usually like to come here and enjoy myself, some days were reserved for when I hit rock bottom and needed to forget one of my problems. This was one of those days.

Already half-drunk from all the liquor I consumed, I raised my shot and poured it down my throat in a few seconds. Honestly the brandy that I was having wasn't that great, but I didn't care. It was the strongest here and would help me get rid of this damn problem. "Hey Jimmy, how about you give an old soldier a reload!" I yell drunkily. Before I could get a refill the glass was taken away from me. I turned to my right to confront the patron who dared to take my drink, only to find my beautiful Crowley holding the glass.

"Ramba, while I do appreciate you supporting our fine establishment, I'd rather see you come home alive than get hit on the side of the road like some homeless bum. I haven't seen you this intoxicated since New Years. Care to share some troubles?" Hamon asked sweetly, gently sliding into the seat on my right. If it was anyone else I'd have told them to fuck off and return to my glass. But I could never do that to Hamon. She could be quite the nagging type and no matter how I was, she always managed to get what she wants.

"It's dad, the trial's over and they finally sentenced him." I said rather grimly. Hamon tried to keep a straight face at the news, but she couldn't upon noticing my state.

"Did it happen today? I've been stuck at work since 9 trying to help the renovations upstairs. Jim doesn't really like to play the news anyways, says that people come here to get away from politics, not hear it. So, what happened?"

"He got sentenced to life and he's going to be going away to Hades sometime within the week. Some members of the prosecution wanted to a different sentence so that way they could enforce the new death penalty laws that are coming out, but the judge wanted an end to the affair so he got the maximum sentence."

Haman smiled slightly at that, "Well that's good. Justice is served and you won't have to have Jimba take another step within the colonies ever again." Haman's face became puzzled when she noticed that there wasn't any relief or gladness when I stated the information. "But you're not happy Ramba, are you?"

I take a deep sigh as I knew she was right. The 01st Wing has been helping alot in taking my stress away. Having to create an entirely new combat doctrine and overseeing the training of 48 pilots while _also_ undergoing much of the same training really took your mind off of things. Yet every now and then the attack would come back into my life one way or another. "I should be happy. I should be grateful that he didn't get put infront of a firing squad. It's just that when I was watching the proceedings at home and I saw the gavel go down, I felt that it wasn't enough. Hundreds are dead because of him. One of the worst terrorist attacks in UC history since the Laplace Incident. And he just gets to live the rest of his days, not facing any real punishment that will atone for the souls of the dead. Sometimes, there are parts of me that wished he died."

Hamon softly gasps at that statement, she then laughs it off. "You can't possibly mean that dear. It's just the alcohol that's talking."

"I'm dead serious about this." I replied. That got Haman to quiet down, slightly disturbed at what I had said. "When I stormed the capitol I had a slight plan. I would go to my father, talk some sense into him, and stop this crazy idea from happening. When I saw the explosions and heard the gunfire, my mission was to take him alive. When I finally cornered him in the parliamentary hall with Gihren and Dozle, dad was pinned down to the ground by Gihren and he had a pistol directly to his head. Gihren was livid. His face and body language just screamed that he wanted to put a bullet in dad's brain and end his life. And he was just about to, until he looked at me and saw my fear, fear that my old man was going to be killed before my eyes. That sort of kicked some sense into him and he knocked dad out instead, taking him into custody.

Sometimes when I sleep though, I'll have the same moment playing in my head over and over again. Yet instead of silently begging for mercy, I shout for him to do it, and then Gihren pulls the trigger. I can't say I want completely want him dead. He's my fucking father for Christ's sake! That man was in my life for 24 years. I remember all the good times. Him taking me out to the ball park. Teaching me how to drive. Watching me walk down the stage at graduation from the academy. How the hell could that person do something like this? To just kill everyone he worked with for years, over some stupid senile grudge?"

I then start to cry silently, pissed beyond all measure of what's going on and depressed over what had happened the past year. The alcohol certainly not helping much. I felt I warm embrace and I looked behind as I saw Hamon stand behind my chair and pull me into a tight hug. "Ramba, you had to go through what no son should ever have to do with a parent. The fact that you were able to keep a calm head through the whole affair just shows what that you're the better man. However I will say that part of the fault in you for being all angsty."

I open my mouth to reply but Haman continues before I have a chance to respond. "Now I'm not saying that you don't have a right to feel how you do. I don't know how I would possibly react if I was in the same situation. After you left the capitol though, you never bothered to reach out for help or try and settle things with your father. You barely showed up to the trial and all you did do was testify on the witness stand and leave as soon as possible. Your mom keeps on contacting me on trying to find out how you are since you barely come home, even with your shore leaves from the service. I don't even see you too much nowadays since your busy playing with giant robots on the moon." Haman said, knowing about the mobile suits since I had slipped about my recent activities in our talks. I never once gave her classified information though and didn't bother to go into detail beyond the bare bones, no need to bring her into martial politics.

"Sorry about that. I keep on telling myself it's because of work, but you probably know damn well that I'm not that busy." I said.

"I'm not mad at you for taking work serious. In fact I'm glad that you're managing to rise through the ranks after everything that's happened. But what you do need is some closure on this mess so that way you can move forward in life. You need to talk to your father."

I stumbled forwards a little bit, releasing myself from Haman's grip upon her suggestion. "Visit _him_?! What for? He did the crime and now he's going to pay for it. There's nothing to discuss about it. What could I say anyways? 'Oh hey dad I forgive you for blowing up the goddamned capitol.' "

Haman shook her head at that. "I'm not saying that you should forgive your father or hug it out. I just want you to confront him and try to get a sense of things. I highly doubt that Jimba has too much time left in this world, going crazy while spending the rest of his days in isolation from the rest of society. Sooner or later there will come a time that he'll pass from this world. And when that day comes and you never once bothered to go talk to him and ask why he did it, then you're going to regret it for the rest of your life. You'll keep wondering 'What should I have done? Was I right to act this way? I wish I could take it all back.' One day you may even lose sight of yourself and become a fat and graying old man."

"I would never let that happen!" I protested.

"You might, if you keep on doubting yourself and getting into a full-blown depression that is. I've seen men like you before Ramba. Men who once had it all and let one bad day change them for the worse. You have a bright future ahead of you and I know that you can pull through. Just give it a try. If things work out then all the better. And if your old man is still a crazy crackpot, then leave it all in the past and don't look back. At least you can say you tried."

I looked down at the bar, knowing Hamon was right. I probably won't be able to go now, but the sooner I get it done then the sooner I can settle this and move on with my life. "Thanks Hamon. I, I think I'll do it. Probably won't be soon, what with the whole Principality thing and the need to wrap things up at base. But I'll do it."

I then leaned toward Hamon, asking for a kiss. She returned fully and for a few seconds I felt pure bliss. "You know how is it that you always have a habit of being right? I asked with a smile for the first time tonight.

"Just call it a women's intuition hon. Now go home and take a shower. The next time I kiss you I don't want to have the taste of cheap booze in my mouth."

 **January 23rd, 0070. Granada, Luna.**

I shifted nervously in front of the computer screen as the video stream was loading. Following Crowley's advice I decided to pay dad a visit at Hades. With the duties of the 01st Wing winding down and most of us being redeployed in March, I decided that now was the best time to try and confront him. Hades was only 280 kilometers south of our current base, so it wouldn't be more than a three hour long journey. To get there however I needed authorization which neither my relation to dad nor my position as Commander could grant. Which was why I asked Dozle to borrow his computer to make a quick call.

A brief flash appeared on the screen before settling out to create an image of a certain bald men sporting a pair of shades along with a bright red royal uniform, the infamous Degwin Sodo Zabi, Soveriegn of Zeon. "Ah Dozle my boy, what an unexpect...who is this and why are you operating my son's account." Demanded the Sovereign. I gulped slightly and then proceeded to explain.

"Sir, it's Commander Ramba Ral from Granada base. I'm sorry for the improper procedure of this conversation, however I asked Dozle if I could use this channel so that I wouldn't have to go through some unnecessary red tape." I explained. Degwin's face softened a bit but it appeared that he was intensely inquisitive over my reasons.

"Ah Ramba, nice to see you again. You should count yourself lucky that I had finished today's business around a half an hour ago. I take calls from my family very seriously so I don't like to be interrupted over trivial matters. What is it that you wish, some kind of favor?"

"Well nothing too difficult Lord Degwin. It's just that I...I wish to visit my father at the facility where he's being held." That request certainly caught Lord Degwin by surprise as his face turned to one of puzzlement.

"Why would you wish to contact me to do that Ramba, surely you can go through the regular channels like everyone else. I know that your mother has gone to see him several times before the trial." I unintentionally winced at that statement. While Mom had never condoned or forgiven dad for the attack, she still took the time to visit him while he was incarcerated during the trial, while I had never even bothered. Mom said that she did it because of the man who dad once was and how she had loved him for it, even though doing so made her look like a sympathizer in the eyes of so many citizens of Zeon.

"I would sir, it's just that I have an intense feeling that I would go through an overnecessary amount of bureaucratic red tape to get there. While I am thankful to you and Lord Gihren for all that you have done after the _incident_ , there are many people on Side 3 who still want to see my head on a spike for simply being his son. No offence, but I think Lady Kycillia would be one of them. There's no evidence to back this up, but I'm damn sure I've been heavily watched by the OSS over the last year. And there's certainly no likelihood that your daughter would want me to have a chance to talk with my treasonous father, for fear that I might sabotage something within the Space Force."

Instead of being partly insulted by the claim that his daughter was spying on me, Lord Degwin appeared resigned with a light sigh. "You must forgive my daughter, Colonel. Kycillia means well, honestly she does, it's just that she can sometimes be too overbearing when it comes to these types of things. While I have complete faith in your loyalty towards the state, Kycillia is far from trusting as I and she never lets her guard down among even the most loyalest of our civil servants and officers. Paranoia comes with the job after all and in espionage its part of what keeps you alive. I guess it wouldn't be too difficult to arrange such an occurrence. Being Sovereign of Zeon wouldn't be of use if you didn't abuse your powers every once in a while." Degwin said with a slight smile. "If I may ask though, why would you want to go visit that man and why now? I got the impression from the trials that you wanted nothing to do with Jimba."

"Well sir, it's not that I've forgiven the man, far from it." I say hesitatingly. "It's just that I want to wrap up this business once and for all. I know that I can't change what happened in the past and that I'll probably have to live with the consequences for the rest of my life. All I want is to be able to face that man for the last time and get on with my life. Even if nothing productive comes from it, I'll at least have the satisfaction of having dealt with the issue, not being left to wonder what could've happened if I did nothing. As for why now, It's because of the fact that my duties with the first wing are going to be ending soon. I'll most likely be reassigned in a position in Side 3 or around the Earth sphere. Since Hades is close to the base I figured that I should get this over with now." Degwin nodded in response, seeming to respect my motives.

"Alright, I'll make a few calls and get you a visit in the few days. If the staff at Hades deny a visit due to Jimba's state or of an occurance at the facility, then it's out of my hands however." I nodded silently in response, just glad that my request had been approved. "If you do wish to get in contact again Ramba, then do try to schedule a call in advance. Things are starting to get hectic in the capitol now that the winter break is over. Then of course there's Jaburo's recent aggression with the Armament Reinforcement plan, as I'm sure you're well aware of." Degwin said, referencing the recently announced expansion of the Federal Forces, especially with the introduction of the Salamis and Magellan class vessels. While it may seem hypocritical of Zeon to criticize Earth for rearmaments, the fact that the Space Force would soon be expanding from 17,000 to 18,000 standing vessels was a cause for concern. After all what need would Lhasa have for that large of an armada if we were supposedly in a time of peace.

"Goodbye for now. Degwin out." The image of the Sovereign then faded to darkness as the monitor returned to a still image of the screensaver. I sat back in the chair while wiping some sweat off of my brow. In the past I never liked having to deal with politicians for whatever reason. Whenever dad had some sort of meeting at the manor I usually found an excuse to ditch the place for a few hours, most of those times having been spent with Crowley. 'Maybe if I had stuck around I could've seen it all, how he started his descent into the abyss.'

My thoughts were interrupted as there was a light knock on the door. "Dozle, you can come in." I said, signaling the giant of the royal family to come in. Dozle had been rather polite and excused himself outside for a few minutes while I conversed with his father, even though it was his quarters that I was occupying for the call. The man may have not had much etiquette, especially when it came to table manners, but he was very humble and knew when to take a hint at times.

"How'd everything work out?" Dozle asked.

"Just fine, your father approved and he said that he'd contact Hades to make the proper arrangments. Presumably I'll have to travel there in a few days. Thankfully we don't have the final war games until next week, though you'll probably have to manage the base by yourself for a day. Dozle, thanks for helping me in this. I know you must not be too thrilled since I'm going to meet the man who tried to kill you just over a year ago." Dozle let out a hearty laugh, taking the dark humor in stride.

"There's no need to thank me Ramba. You've been a fine comrade this past year and it would be wrong of me to act so petty after all that you've done. You aren't your father's son after all, I most certainly wouldn't want you judging me for all that my father's done. And while I'll never forgive Jimba for being a cold bastard and trying to murder my family, he's still your father at the end of the day and you deserve some closure with him. God knows how'd I feel if I was in your position."

"I appreciate the sentiment. Well I'll be heading back to my own quarters now, wake me up if the Tri-Stars decide to paint my Zaku purple again." I then went outside of Dozle's room and headed off down the hall, others stopping to salute me as I pass bye. _'Well I've passed the point of no return, for better or worse.'_

 **Present time**

"Well, what a surprise this is! I haven't seen you since the trial. Have you come back to finish the job Rama? Are you going to cut me down to satisfy those damn Zabis who you betrayed your own blood for." Father accused. Just one sentence and I'm already beginning to regret this plan. It's not like I expected him to suddenly become repentant for his actions and change for the better. I just hoped that he would at least think about what he's done, sadly it seems like that isn't the case.

"I came here to talk and try and settle things between us. Clearly it looks like we aren't going to make any progress."

"Settle? SETTLE?! What is there to settle? The facts seem pretty clear to me. Just when I was about to accomplish my mission and free Zeon from its tyranny, you rush in and strike me down where I stand. Instead of dying as a hero, I spend my days languishing in this hellhole while the rest of Zeon becomes even more brainwashed by the Zabi fiends. You could've prevented this Ramba! You could have sat on the sidelines and allowed me to finish what needed to be done! Instead you became a filthy traitor, to your country and your family!"

At this point I was getting beyond pissed. It seemed that dad was still in the same state that he was in during the trial. Constantly ranting about the whole system was against him and that he was the real hero for murdering innocent government employees and civilians. Often times they had to gag him in the proceedings just to shut up. It was something I fucking hated. Having to see the man who raise me lose himself to madness. Was he always like this? Was I just to blind to see what was the real personality of Jimba Ral.

"I can't believe that you continue spouting this bullshit dad. Just what the hell is wrong with how Zeon currently is?! Sure it may not be perfect but we're far better than the other Sides and any place on Earth. People are happy with how the Zabis are running things. Side 3 hasn't been transformed into some Nazi state that the Federation thinks we are. Do you honestly think anyway that Zeon Deikun would be okay with you? That he would validate you becoming a fucking terrorist and killing the same people who you worked years with to run the nation? If anything I bet he's rolling in his grave right now, disgusted on how his friend turned on him."

"Don't you dare lecture me on what Zeon Deikun would do, you didn't know the man like I did!" Father spit back with venom. "Deikun founded Munzo to give us the home that we Spacenoids deserve and serve as a vessel for the Newtype ideal. We were going to accomplish big things, things that humanity had never seen. And then Degwin Zabi came and ruined it all. From day one I knew never to trust that snake, and Degwin gave me every reason not to. He weaseled his way into the government and ensured that dozens of legislators were in his pocket. He put his own children into key positions of power when they didn't deserve a single job. All of it led to Deikun's assassination and then what happens next, the Zabis take over government and now they are royalty, ruling over the masses like the absolute monarchs of ancient Europe. How can you be so blind to all of this?" Father demanded.

I breathed a large sigh at his accusations. While dad was right in many ways that the Zabis were ambitious and quite ruthless to their enemies, they were far from the monsters that so many people liked to portray them as. Working with Dozle showed me that the Zabis weren't all bad people. Dozle himself was a man of honor that would never turn against a fellow serviceman without ample reason. If they were such monsters after all, then why put so much time and effort into making life better on Zeon when they could've gotten the same amount of praise and adoration for less results.

"And what exactly did you do Dad? If I remember correctly you mostly acted as a whip for Deikun's policies, always seeking to make sure that his ideas were brought to the table and rarely ever sought to make your own bills. Degwin and Gihren both wanted to reform Zeon, and he supported them every step of the way. It was the Zabis who were crucial in founding the Flanagan Institute and helping to spread the awareness of Newtypes, and yet you went against them because of some derived notion that it was all part of a brainwashing scheme. Sure Degwin's children were all put into positions of power, but I don't remember Zeon Deikun even once going against it. After his death there weren't any grand moves for power, no coups in the making. You could've even became Prime Minister on your own if you had just waited for the damn elections to take place. But no, you went on your own and decided to take the capitol by force.

Do you have any idea what would've happened if you succeeded, if all of parliament was dead and the Zabis were killed? If that happened the Federation would've waltzed right in and declare a state of martial law. Side 3 would be directly governed by Earth and we would've lost our autonomy status, becoming a mockery to the other Sides that poor Zeon couldn't be bothered to rule on its own. Lhasa would've undone all the reforms in the past few years, they would've crushed the advancement of Newtypes, put us back under oppression. And no one would've been there to stop them because you would've killed the only people capable!

I was there that day dad. I saw the faces of men and women who I knew whole life, people who called you a friend and ally. Said friend and ally who decided to become a goddamn terrorist and send them to their graves. Today might not be what Deikun would have planned, but he damn sure would've never agreed to cold-blooded murder!"

I stop my rant as I notice that dad was starting to cry. At first I backed down, figuring that maybe it was truly starting to get into his thick head of his that what he did was wrong. Unfortunately that wasn't the case as he started laughing like a madman. "HAHAHAH-hahaha! Ramba, you still think that there was anything left of Zeon Deikun's legacy to save?! You're an even bigger fool that I thought. You see I knew that the Federation would've come in, I knew that they would have undone everything that has come to pass. But you know what? I'm fine with it. Because the Zeon that exists today is not the Zeon that it was supposed to be. Zeon Zum Deikun was a man with a dream. He was a man who wished to save the Earth, to guide humanity unto a new path of evolution. He was the future, he was the only hope that we have left. Yet just as Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples, so too was Zeon Deikun struck down by that Judas, Degwin.

Be honest Ramba, do you really think that Degwin is some glorified civil servant? That everything that he does is in the name of the people and Zeon Deikun. Servants of the state do not go and create Principalities with them as the heads of state. If there was anyone that deserved to rule as Sovereign it would be Casval Rem Deikun, the true heir to Zeon's legacy. Unfortunately Degwin was able to get to the Deikun heir first. He used his bastard son Garma and manipulated young Casval and sweet Artesia to become their obedient puppets. He used Gihren to turn our so-called friends against us and turn Parliament into a viper's nest that would bend to his every whim. Sasro took control of the media, allowing them to form a sick cult that worhsips the Zabis like gods. Kycillia took the reigns of security and now Zeon is a totalitarian police state, Orwell's worst nightmare come true. Oh sure those ignorant cattle can get their fat welfare checks and become content in their comfy jobs, but at the end of the day these 'advancements' are merely tools to push the Zabis into power. Give us absolute power and we'll make sure you live a life of mediocrity. A most beautiful lie that the masses ate like the fools they are.

Mussolini, Hitler, Tojo, Stalin, Castro, Pol Pot, Khomeini, Kim Il-Sung; these are all leaders who have walked the path of tyranny, and the Zabis do nothing but follow their footsteps. Even if I somehow managed to take the reigns of government, there would've been nothing left of Deikun's vision to save. Zeon has turned into a land of the Zabi's nothing more. Every day Contolism is fading away, now no one gives a damn about the Earth or our place among the stars. Now it's all about the Zabis and how we shall become nothing more than slaves to them. That's why I did it Ramba. In order to start anew we must kill the cancer of old. With the death of the Zabis, Zeon truly would be saved and we would still have a bright future ahead of us. It was a hard sacrifice to be sure, but one I proudly took to defend the legacy of my friend." Father actually smirked at the end of his crazy monologue, as if he were proud of the attack. Even if he died right here and now he would still have the satisfaction of having done the deed.

Looking back at the man across me, I'm firmly convinced that the person who used to be my father, Jimba Ral, is dead.

"Sacrifice, Sacrifice! What do you know of sacrifice?! Do you have any idea of what mom and I had to go through in the days after your little adventure in the capitol? Mom kept on getting harassed by media and the people for simply being your wife. People claimed that she could've stopped you and it's her fault for letting the attack happen. Most of our family friends have abandoned us and she can rarely go outside without being hounded by fanatics who want her dead. Hell, even though I was the one who stopped you there have been times where I've nearly been killed because some lunatic wanted to finish the job and see both of us end up in the grave. My whole career in the Space Force would've been dead if it weren't for the Zabis covering my ass and giving me a promotion. You know, the family you claim to be the one's who are ruining the state of Zeon. If it weren't for them then the House of Ral would cease to exist and we'd have to flee to Earth!"

I then stood up and went to the door, having had enough of this conversation. Before I leave I take one look back to the man who I loath to call my father. "I came here today because I wanted to see why you did it. What twisted motivation you could've possibly had for killing the people that you've worked side by side for years. Now I see that there can be no reconciliation, there's nothing left to talk about. Whoever you once were, the man who you might've been, that man is gone. For now Jimba Ral is dead to me and he's rotting in a grave on Granada.

I pity you, I really do. You could have had it all and become a part of the new Zeon, instead it's thanks to your actions that the Principality has now formed in the first place and everything that you were a part of shall be forgotten by history, swept under the rug. No one's going to remember you. Zeon has already moved on and the attack is all but a fading memory in the eye of the people. In your last days people will even forget that you exist as you wither away in this hellhole.

I'm going to go now and live my life on my own, free from you for the first time. If you somehow truly do repent, then I might come again. Since that may not be the case, then this is goodbye." I knock on the door which allows two of the guards in. They go to restrain dad...no _Jimba_ and take him away to wherever cell he'll spend the rest of his time in.

I don't look back but from what I can hear the sounds of a scruffle are going on. "It's not too late to change Ramba, you can still take action. The Zabis are going to be the end for Zeon and Degwin shall be the one to lead our nation to destruction. Save Deikun's legacy! Down with the-" Whatever he said was lost as the guards presumably either gagged him or put a syringe in.

I start to pick up the pace and try to get to the exit as fast as I can. There's no reason to stay here a second longer and it's time to get back to my men, to the place where I belong. Home.

 **A/N: Hey everyone, Kaiser Chris here back with more Gihren's Glory. This chapter, while not having much to do with the overall story, is one I wanted to do for quite a while on showing the status of Ramba Ral TTL. This is showing how Ramba has moved on personally since the Jimbajacking and how he'll begin to move forward and forge a new path for himself that is outside of his father's shadow, one that will be a patriot dedicated to the welfare of Zeon. Thanks to Kaiser Gihren's patronage Ramba will go far than this story, definitely far more than just a simple Commander in the space force, especially since he's one of the first MS pilots. Ramba will make some infrequent appearances as the years go bye, and then will start to become a major part of the story in 0075-0078 in the buildup to the war, where he'll be essential. Hope I did him well along with Crowley, those two were honestly the best characters Zeon had to offer outside of the Zabis. Next chapter will come in the next week or two and will feature that big event that I kept on hinting at in the last one. Prepare for a big shakeup in the lives of some of our major characters. Until then stay tuned for more. Sieg Zeon!**


	28. Trouble in Paradise

**February 22nd, 0070. Zeon Zum City, Side 3. Tem Ray POV  
**  
 _'It's an interesting design, far from perfect and needs work, but has lots of potential.'_ The aforementioned schematic in front of my eyes was that of an atmospheric mobile armor, the Apsalus. As one of the leading heads of Research and Development, it often fell into my job requirements to scour over the various designs submitted from the employees at Zeonic when I wasn't working on development of the Zaku-II. While Zeonic held a leading edge in mobile suits and our robotics were swarming factory lines all over Zeon, there were still other areas where the company was lackluster. Particuarly, mobile armor. Zeonic's rival company MIP, had been outperforming us in that area with the production of the Val Varo, a highly advanced MA that the Space Force was buying in thousands and something that would be used as a primary engagement unit alongside the Zaku. 'And the Zudah if Zimmad finds a way to prevent it from blowing up at max velocity.' Frightened by the prospect of losing Zeonic's leading status in government contracts, Sakamoto sought to restructure R&D to keep us ahead of the competitors. The department now had a new additional sub-branch dedicated entirely to design theory and the creation of both mobile suits and armor for any situation possible. That way when the time came for the military to demand for a specific class of MS or MA, Zeonic would have the best designs on hand and produce a prototype before the competition even got started.

"Well Doctor what is your opinion on the Apsalus?" Asked the young blonde haired man sitting in front of me, Ginias Sahalin. Ginias was a Lieutenant in the reserves of the Space Force while also working as a designer for Zeonic, having been hired shortly after I came into the company. There was a heavy amount of rumors and gossip around the man, most of which weren't his fault but rather due to the tragic circumstances of his life. His father died in 0064 in a tragic incident onboard a cruise where the ships nuclear reactor leaked radiation, something that according to the same rumors gave him a rare condition. then three years later his mother leaves the family to Earth for reasons under immense speculation, leaving the boy as the sole head of the aristocratic Sahalin family and having to look after his little sister. Personally I didn't care too much for such blatant gossip at the water cooler. Whatever Ginias' personal life was it was his alone and it would be rude to bring such affairs into the workplace. Besides he was probably one of the best minds in R&D on mobile armor. The Apasalus may not have been a great rough draft, but it was leagues better than some of the trash that I've received from the interns.

Trying to think of a constructive critique to the design (Ginias was known to rather easily get offended) I sat still for a few seconds before coming up with a response. "Ginias while the Apsalus is a great mobile armor in theory, it is one that when put into practice and enter mass-production, would fail to hold up to the competition." Ginias was about to defend his creation before I finished with a bit of sugar, "That being said however it can become a powerful weapon on the battlefield when eliminating its flaws, or lack of strengths as I should say."

Ginias now became puzzled at how specifically his design wasn't perfect. "What exactly are you referring to Doctor Ray? I've been working on the creation of the Apsalus for weeks. I ran multiple test simulations of what a prototype could be capable of, and it is far superior in firepower to the Zaku, no offense intended. One of our intended objectives is the creation of a mobile armor which will pierce through bedrock and titanium to become the perfect bunker-buster. The Apsalus can, not it _will_ do its job perfectly." Ginias stated rather confidently. _'I think I can now see why he doesn't understand. Sure he can provide a solution, but there's no thinking outside the box.'  
_  
"Ginias, if we are looking only at the objective of drilling through solid earth and annihilating the target, the Apsalus is a success in that regard. However beyond that there is little else the Apsalus can do. What we have here is a one-trick pony that will perform its job and be able to do nothing else. Now this is fine for tools and weapons, but not for vehicular constructs. If the Apsalus can only fire a megaparticle beam that is intended to be a bunker-buster, then what will happen if Zimmad or MIP creates a design that is relatively the same but has a more powerful canon? Should the Apsalus enter into production then it will become obsolete after a year once our competitors get intelligence on the MA and successfully reverse engineer it. Our specialty lies in mobile weaponry, we don't pump out machines that can easily be replaced by the competition with a few tweaks in design, that's auto manufacturing.

In addition there is the fact that besides the megaparticle canon, which can only be used on large and for the most part immobile objects, there is no main weaponry. What will happen to the Apsalus if a single mobile suit or a squad of them could get in close range and possibly board ontop of the machine. It would be a sitting duck and powerless to defend itself form its attackers. While this isn't a big tray, there should at least be a small number of secondary armarments that act as a defensive system in close combat. Perhaps the addition of some missile emplacements for aircraft and railguns to target ground objects." Judging by the look on his face, Ginias was left stunned on how he missed such details when creating the Apsalus.

"I apologize Doctor, it seems I may have been rather rash in focusing solely on perfecting the megaparticlecanon and not placing my attention on the actual defense of the armor. I had rather intended to write up a doctrine that had mobile suits act as escorts for the Apsalus. Is there anything else that needs to be brought to my attention?" Asked Ginias, though by the tone of his question it seemed like he'd rather not want to take any more criticism.

"There are some minor issues that while not preventing the successful performance of the mobile armor, make it rather inefficient than it could be. Primarily this is the lack of a strong anchor to handle the blast along with the usage of a standard Minosvky reactor which would only guarantee perhaps ten or so uses of the megaparticle canon before needed to return to base to recharge. These can be easily rectified with the inclusion of more Minovsky reactors along with two leg structures to act as a support. While you return to the drawing board though, I would recommend spending some time focusing away from the military aspect of the Apsalus and maybe make a civilian spacecraft."

Ginias raised an eyebrow at that, apparently extremely confused on how a military mobile armor could be used for civilian purposes. "How exactly would the Apsalus be available to the market? If the Federation were able to just buy one of these then we'd just let a weapon of mass destruction waltz right into Jaburo."

"I know that Sahalin, I'm not stupid." _'After all the trouble of running away from Jaburo there's no way I'd want to help them in any way or form.'_ "However if the Apsalus was to be significantly downgraded, with the megaparticle canon decreasing in power by 80%, it could be used as a mining laser to cut through asteroids or possibly regolith on the moon. Zeonic pays billions to other companies in order to obtain helium-3 along with materials such as titanium, iron, copper, and gold for the construction of our products. If we were to sell a mining version of the Apsalus to these corporations then Zeonic would make a decent return in profits. With the Zabis focused on the expansion of the mining industry and recent multitude of missions into the asteroid belt, a mining version of the Apsalus would make for hundreds of millions of credits easily, something that would bring a sizable amount of wealth, even with the 5% inventor's profit ratio set up by corporate." The mention of my alternate options seemed to brighten up Ginias' mood, probably filling him with several ideas on how to modify the schematics in order to fit said requirements and increase his income and standing greatly."

"I see...thank you very much Doctor Ray, today has been a very fruitful experience. I'll be sure to create some new plans for the mining MA and run them by Walker." Ginias said, rising up and stretching his hand for a shake.

"No problem Ginias, be sure to come by when your finished on reworking the Apsalus and I'll be sure to send them to Sakamoto for approval if it turns out alright." I shook his hand in return, prompting Ginias to leave my office. Settling back down in my chair, I was about to return to work on my new theories of miniaturizing megaparticle weapons, when my office phone rang.

I picked up the device and responded to the call, "Hello, Doctor Tem Ray of Zeonic speaking."

"Ray Sakamoto wants you in his office in ten minutes. He'd like to discuss with you some matters that the Department of Defense has brought up." Said the voice of Kelsey Sotomayer, Sakamoto's secretary.

"Are they displeased with the Zaku?" I asked, concerned that they may have found some dissatisfaction with the design.

"No but it does have something to do with future Zaku lines, you'll have to ask the boss for more information."

"Alright I'll be right there." I replied, hanging up the phone. I then grabbed my id card and headed outside of my office, locking the door on my way out. _'I sure hope Sakamoto isn't going to try and create another variation of the Zaku. Branching out is fine and all but it's ridiculous making a dozen variations of the same machine.'_ Luckily I had managed to convince Sakamoto that sticking to a far simpler an advanced singular class would be far cheaper in the long run and wouldn't produce needless complications that could lead to a drop in military contracts. It made me wonder what the old man would've done if I had never shown up. Create dozens of different Zaku classes in mass production?

It took a six minute walk to Sakamoto's office on the tenth floor, my own being on the fourth. There weren't many people milling about in the halls today and most I came across either went about their business or gave a simple greeting which I returned. Overall working in Zeonic was far better than anyone of my days in the Federation. The company gave me a large amount of freedom to complete projects as I saw fit and a large amount of resources on which to work with, coinciding with Sakamoto's ethic of spare no expense.

Turning my thoughts back to Ginias' mobile armor submission earlier, a disturbing realization came back to my mind. The MA in question wasn't designed for usage in space or on the moon, rather it was one made for combat on Earth. I didn't pay too much attention at the time, merely focused on its flaws and potential, yet now I realize that this MA the first of probably many designs that the armed forces were coming up with for the invasion of Earth. Hell if I remember correctly Zimmad was working on some sort of aquatic suit at the moment.

While the arms race that was beginning at the moment would want any side to be as prepared as possible for a war, one thing that most of Zeon wanted was to fight and claim victory in space, not take it to the surface of the Earth. Yet it seemed that the Zabis were anticipating a possible invasion of the planet. While I had adjusted to life in the colonies and mostly considered myself a Spacenoid, I was still a Terran at heart and I didn't want to see the homeworld get ruined in the fighting. _'Hopefully it's just an absolute last resort for the worst case scenario. Though if that were to happen then how would we get ourselves there?'  
_  
I then shook my head in trying to rid myself of my morbid thoughts. Whatever happened it would be the big brass and politicians who would decide such things, which would most likely be years from now. Until then it's best to focus on matters of the present.

Finishing my small trek, I went right up to Sakamoto's office, passing by Sotomayer who was working on her desk and gave a brief nod as I passed by. I knocked a three times on the door. "Sir, it's Doctor Ray."

"Ah, come in Ray-san!" I then opened the door and walked into the office of my boss.

Sakamoto's office was far modest than what you would expect of your typical CEO. Inside it was comparable to one of your average worker at Zeonic, only slightly larger. There was a single desk and a computer, along with several paperwork and writing utensils on the desk. There were two seats in center for guests, a cabinet in the right hand corner with a bonzai tree on top, and a wall decorated with memoribilia from the company along with some Japanese drawings. "Thank you for coming today Doctor." Sakamoto said while bowing, which I awkwardly returned.

"It's no problem at all sir, I finished overlooking the designs that were submitted so there was little left to do today besides continue research on the megaparticle weapons for future mobile suits. I was told by Kelsey that there were some requests for the Zaku?" I asked, taking a seat as I sat down.

"Well not for the Zaku in particular, but for future mobile suits in general. There is no cause for concern though as this request is something that Defense is looking into in the far future, not a pressing issue at the moment. I would go into further details, but the man who will be joining us today had to relieve himself for a few minutes on a pressing phone call." Sakamoto explained. _'Hmm, someone from the Space Force or Army.'_ "However I would offer some personal congratulations Doctor. We just finished focus-testing Haro in the entertainment division, and we got a high amount of positive response from the children involved. Vice President Arizawa wants to put it on the market before the Christmas season starts. I'll also be sure to transfer the royalty fees into a trust fund for young Amuro-kun thanks to him being the inventor of Haro of course."

I left my mouth open for a few seconds, utterly shocked at how well my son's small robot was well liked by the company. "Sir, I can't quite possibly thank you enough, I'm sure Amuro will be thrilled to hear the news." Sakamoto had been at the Christmas party at the Deikun manor where he got to witness firsthand the Haro model that Amuro had built for Artesia. Sakamoto had instantly been intrigued by the intricate design and high performance of the robot, bombarding Amuro with a barrage of questions which he was able to answer. Most shocking of all was the fact that Sakamoto had asked Amuro to come into Zeonic one day and share the design with design team in the entertainment division, something I did not expect at all. When he was still on break from school I had brought Amuro into work and had him show the original Haro unit to the design team. The head of design, Anna Nielsen, found Haro to have lots of potential to be marketable, asking Amuro to provide the designs for the machine which he did. _'I guess in the end it payed off.'  
_  
"With the introduction of our mobile suit models and Haro among others Zeonic's sales will surely rise exponentially by the end of the year. You know Doctor, if young Amuro should ever wish for a job after highschool I would be more than happy to offer him one in the company. With such talent at a young age I'm sure that he would be a tremendous asset when older."

"Of course, after all such extraordinary accomplishments can only come from such an extraordinary Newtype." Said a new voice who entered the room. I turned my head back to the door to find the sight of a man who I hoped to have a very limited amount of contact in the future. In the doorway stood a rather burly man of middle eastern origins in a tan business suit, Doctor Anton Flanagan.

"Ah Flanagan-san, thank you for returning. This here is Doctor Tem Ray, our head of Mobile Suit Research and Development here at Zeonic." Said Sakamoto.

"No need for any introductions. Tem and I have been rather shall we say... _acquainted_ during the past. I apologize again for the interruption Yoshi, we had a rather unfortunate accident back at the Institute during some of the tests. Rest assured everything is completely under control at the moment." Flanagan said, seating himself next to me, though I didn't bother shaking his hand.

It wasn't that I hated Anton Flanagan, in fact I respected his work and leadership into the newly created science of Newology. There was also the fact that after our hasty defection into Zeon, Amuro had an appointment with the Institute where Kamaria and I were able to learn many of his _gifts_ , as they liked to call it. While I am thankful for Amuro being able to understand what he was, I did not for one second like the fact that Flanagan kept on pushing for him to go to the Institute. The doctor had practically begged for Amuro to join his school so that way he could have another powerful Newtype as part of his pupils. Even if the Flanagan Institute was a certifiable organization that was far more ethically sound than any of their fledgling Terran counterparts, I would not let my son undergo experimentation and be used as a study for research. Zeon is the first chance Amuro's had to live a normal life and I will not take it away from him.

"Sir, what exactly does the Flanagan Institute have to do with mobile suits. As far as I'm aware, isn't the Institute supposed to be focused on the _peaceful_ integration of Newtypes into society?" I asked Sakamoto, though wording it as a slight insult to Flanagan, who seemed to take none.

"As you are well aware Ray-san we have been receiving constant data from the Space Force on the usage of our mobile suits on Granada as well as within other testing facilities in Side 3. Of the Zaku and Waff pilots, approximately 238 have been found to have Newtype abilities. The data that has returned shows that these pilots outperform a majority of the rest of the Oldtype pilots and can perform extraordinary feats that go beyond the capabilities of the mobile suits."

"Extraordinary feats?" I inquired.

"As I have repeatedly stated within my published thesis, Newtypes are human beings who, while on par with Oldtypes for the most part, are capable of groundbreaking results when they apply their abilities to certain labors. The one common factor that all of these Newtype pilots shared is their astounding use of precognition. We are talking about soldiers who can detect ambushes with no visible indications of such a trap. Enhanced reflexes that push the speed and reaction times of the mobile suits beyond their limits. Predicting close combat before it happens. What is most suprising of all is reports of actions of Newtype suits responding in combat as if they were human, meaning actions and body language of mobile suits that are not programmed into the OS and can in rare situations act without the pilots direct input." Flanagan explained.

I started forming cold sweats at the mention of these Newtype pilots. When looking back at the data sent from active use of the Zaku, I mostly analyzed the general performance of the machine as a whole, rarely bothering to look if such individual occurances as a whole. Once more was the appearance that it looked like the pilot and machine were becoming one. While aerial pilots in the World Wars have been reported to perform miracles in combat, this was something that went far beyond a lucky shot or perfect landing.

"What am I supposed to do about this then? I'm an Oldtype in the first place and I can't just modify the programming of the mobile suits to fit the individual needs of the pilot. That would require the creation of dozens of different OS' with the correct software that can keep up with human reaction. Not even Cyberware's latest programs could possibly perform such a task." I protested, not wanting any part of what was about to occur, even though I knew that my involvement was probably already decided on by Sakamoto himself.

"On our own capabilities Ray-san, you are indeed correct that it would be impossible. That is why we should require the cooperation of the Institute. They are the foremost minds behind Newology and if anyone can come up with a solution it would be them." Said Sakamoto.

"What if I told you," Began Flangan as he started to dig through some files in his hand, "That the institute is in the middle of researching technology that can allow a Newtype to use their brainwaves to communicate with machines and operate them without manual input."

"I'd call you a quack!" I responded.

Flanagan merely chucked at my disbelief. "Oh not doctor, this is not mere science fiction, rather it is an emerging reality. What I am proposing is a system of psychic communications, or as I like to call them, Psycommu. This right here in my hand is the schematics of your very own Zaku-I, but embedded with a psycoframe. The psycoframe itself is a device that acts as a sort of transistor between the psycommu and the very atoms of the mobile suit. Now the psycoframe is a theory that will take years to develop, but as for the psycommu, we have already begun testing."

Flanagan handed the schematics which I overlooked. The design was that of a regular Zaku-I, however encoded within the chasis was a series of subsystems that in many ways took a similar appearence to circuitry on a dashboard. As I read through the theories I was still unconvinced. _'Using one's mind to control a machine, it's simply inconceivable.'  
_  
"Anton, while I do respect you and your work, this psycoframe that you are proposing is simply impossible. Minovsky physics may have sounded to be fiction at first, but it is possible thanks to our discovery and understanding of the particle. What you are proposing here is going from point A to C without even bothering install a medium for B. Where is this proof for the psycommu that you claim to be developing anyways?"

Flanagan merely smiled at my denial and motioned towards Sakamoto, "Yoshi, it seems that Tem here is just as skeptic as you once were. Why don't you show him the footage that made yourself a believer."  
I was confused at first on what Flanagan was talking about until Sakamoto turned his computer monitor around and began to play a video file. One that was labeled "Psycommu Success"

The video began feedback and it centered around a young Indian girl who could barely be older than Amuro. The girl stood in a stark white room resembling the rocket tunnels that had once been used by Nasa in the creation of the Apollo program. In front of her was a meter long spherical device, shaped much similarly to a model rocket. After a few second the girl then stretched out her hand, looking as though she was trying to call the device to her in the same vein as those Jedi form the ancient Star Wars films. For five seconds nothing happened. Then the device started to float, that's right, float! Without any sign of a propulsion unit whatsoever, the device began to hover in the air for several meters. Cutting back to the young Indian girl, it appeared as though she were in a trance, focusing solely on the device and not having any attention to her surroundings. The girl flicked her wrist, and then the device moved. It went up and down, moved in circle, performed tricks all at the movement of just her hand.

The footage played for several minutes until the device landed safely on the ground in its previous position. The footage then ended as the screen went black.

Slouching back in my seat, I was slightly horrified. Before I had thought that Newtypes were nothing more than advanced humans who had precognition and greater awareness. Yet this girl, this girl had been able to command a machine at will with just her mind. HER MIND! It was like staring at something straight out of a cliche science-fiction film from the 20th century. _'Can Amuro do that?'_

"That was my star pupil Lalah Sune. She is an S-class Newtype with abilities that far exceed her peers. This was only her third trial whereas others had to take dozens of trials to perform the same results. You see Doctor Ray, Newtypes are the future and they will soon play critical roles in our society. I believe that your son Amuro can do this and much more."

Sakamoto then coughed a little bit to grab Flanagan's attention, "Flanagan-san, I believe it would be best to keep whatever personal business it is that you and Ray-san have outside of this room."

"Sorry about that Yoshi." Flanagan says, lightly bowing his head. "The point still stands though that Newtype powers are developing greatly and any day we will start to see them develop into mechanics. Strangely enough, my studies have shown that Newtypes more adapt at the piloting of mobile suits compared to any other vehicular or mechanical construct. Something I theorize having to do with the humanoid shape of the suit that allows it to act as a greater extension of the human will. Seeing as how mobile suits are becoming more relevant than ever within our nation thanks to the Zabis, this is one area that I would like to see the psycommu be fully equipped with by the end of the decades."

"What exactly is it that you want to do with this psycho tech Flanagan? Do you truly want to make integrate Newtypes in the industry, or are you just looking for an excuse to turn Newtypes into weapons of war?" I questioned.

"That is rather ironic coming from a man who creates weapons for a living." chided Flanagan.

"My job is to create tools that our men and women in uniform can use to protect the state from any and all threats abroad. Those people chose to enter into the military and they are simply doing their jobs. They aren't being forced into a war because of their genetics."

"And that is exactly what I am doing as well, giving tools to the Newtypes who have _chosen_ to serve. There are tens of thousands within all three branches at the current moment and the military is receiving more Newtype recruits each day. No one is being forced to enter into a mobile suit, there is no draft being concocted to make a super Newtype corps, these are solely for those select few born with the gift of being a Newtype that can make a difference. Even if I just sit on the sidelines and do nothing do you think that the Federation will act the same. One day they will catch up to Zeon both in tech and the understanding of Newtypes. When that happens we'll be facing legions of Newtypes who have been breed for conquering outer space to pave the way for Terran supremacy. If that happens then would it be truly so wrong for us to fight back with the same tools, though of their own free will." lectured Flanagan.

I sat down at that as I couldn't find a reasonable counter-argument to what the Doctor had said. Hell, it was the same reasons why I had to flee to Zeon to protect Amuro from what Jaburo had wanted to do.

"Fine, I'll accept responsibility for the development of these...psyco suits." I lamented. "So when do we start?"

"The project in hand won't begun true development until at least next year so that we may be able to delve into greater amounts of data from the Zaku. " Explained Sakamoto. "At the same time Flanagan will be working on moving the psycommu beyond the prototype stage. For now Ray-san, I'll just want you to gather the necessary personnel and resources that we shall need for such a project. Also take the time to look over the schematics of the psycoframe and see if there are any improvements that can be made to the potential prototype." Sakamoto leaned back in his chair in thought. "Hmm psyco suits. I like it! A little bit vulgar but it'll add mystery and excitement to the brand when we start making civilian models."

"If that is all sir then I'll be leaving. Good day." I say, bowing my head and then proceeding to depart the office towards the elevator. I make it a meter in front of the door before I see out of the corner of my eye, Anton Flanagan running to catch up to me.

"Wait, Doctor Ray!" He asks, slowing down to less than a half a meter to my left. "I know that you will probably reject me, again, but will you please reconsider enrolling your son Amuro into the Flanagan Institute when he reaches intermediary."

 _'Oh this again.'_ "For the last time Flanagan, I will not be forcing my son into your school. My wife and I have already had enough calls from your staff, thank you very much. The reason we came to Zeon in the first place was so that Amuro could have a nice normal life and not be treated any different thanks to his status. We're already looking into several technical schools and academies at the moment."

"But you don't understand, Amuro is in many ways the pinnacle of Newtype development. My Institute has gone through millions of different Newtypes from all sorts of backgrounds, and only a handful can reach to Amuro's potential. Your son has the ability to do wondrous things, go far beyond what we thought possible. To hold him back from taking his first steps would destroy his future. It would be an utter crime." Pleaded Flanagan. "It's not like we're going to take him away and experiment on him in some isolated laboratory like a lab rat. He'll be surrounded by peers his own age with the same abilities, he'll have the foremost minds in the Earth sphere on Newology. You and your wife won't even have to be separated from him, he'll still be attending school in Zum City."

The door opens and I quickly step in, wanting to escape the conversation as fast as possible. "Look Doctor, I'll be thinking about it. However Amuro is not going to be forced into the Institute. We shall only do so if we feel that it if for his best interests." Before Flanagan is able to come up with a response, the door closes and I push the button to return to the 4th floor, eager to get back to my office.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful with a few meetings with my employees and the rest of the time spent looking at the psycoframe, a rather functional fine piece of technology in concept but one that I'll need to delve greater into the study of Newology to understand how to work it though. I didn't get too far into the designs though as my mind was mostly focused on Amuro the rest of the day. I knew that I was probably being too harsh on the doctor, but I just couldn't allow my son to be used like that, even if it is for a good cause.

A little after 5 I quit my work then proceeded to the garage so that I could go home. The drive took a little over a half an hour to complete, Flanagan's words repeating in my head the entire time. _"Your son has the ability to do wondrous things, go far beyond what we thought possible. To hold him back from taking his first steps would destroy his future."_

'Maybe he is right, maybe I am holding back Amuro. I'm not a Newtype so it's not like I can understand what he's going through.'

At last I pull up to the driveway and park in front of our house, a modest one-story home that is design in the neo-nuclear style, taking inspiration from the Levittowns of the 1950's.

When I turn off the car the front door opens and out runs Amuro, his green Haro jumping right behind. "Dad, your home!" Amuro yells while rushing into my arms for a hug, which I return.

"Dad's home! Dad's home!" mimicked the green ball, rolling around the two of us. _'It may be annoying at times but it's far easier than taking care of a pet. And it's going to make us rich.'_

Speaking of, "Hey son, I got some good news for you. The boss called me today and he said that the Entertainment division gave the final approval for Haro. They'll be having him on the markets for Christmas."

Amuro's face lit up in joy at the sucess of his invention. "That's great dad! Maybe I'll finally be a real inventor just like you!"

I smiled at that, "Come on Amuro, you already are an inventor. The only difference between you and me are my years of experience. Though I have a feeling that you'll close the gap. Where's your mother by the way?"

"Oh, she's busy making dinner." Right after that exact moment the entire world lit up in a blazing inferno as a large explosion erupted inside the house.

Instinctively I leapt into action and shielded Amuro with my body while the Haro hovered down to the street. We stayed still for several seconds while the heat in the air was increasing due to the fire, miracuously we both weren't scratched.

I turned back to the house, only to look in horror as the roof was beginning to collapse with fires ranging all around the property. The worst place was the section of the house with the kitchen, the rubble making it look more like a warzone. _'Oh God no. Please don't let this happen! Please, Please don't let this be true!'  
_  
"Mom, mommy! Where are you?! Dad we have to get her!" Amuro yelled, panicking and struggling to get outside of my grasp.

I tightened my grip on Amuro and refused to let him move. I couldn't let him see this, yet it was already too late. "Easy Amuro, everything's going to be fine."

It was a lie, one big fat lie. Just moments ago I lost the only women I ever loved. _'Why, why did this happen to us?! Just after everything was getting good. Why?!'_

Tears rolling down my face, I screamed into the night, "KAMARIA!"

 **Deikun Manor. Artesia Deikun POV  
**  
"MEEEOOOWWWWW!" Lucifer screeched as I rinsed the soap on his fur.

"Hold still Lucifer. I wouldn't be giving you a bath if you didn't roll around in the mud outside." I said.

"HIIISSSSSSS!" The brown cat responded, none too pleased of being soaked in a small pool of water.

"Honestly why can't you be a good kitty and just stay inside? You know Garma's dogs don't give him this much trouble. At least they listen to him." Last Christmas Garma's brother Gihren had gotten him a beagle and German Shephard, named Snoopy and Jaeger. Both were super cute and they were really nice to me when I met them. Snoopy was an energetic puppy and he liked to run around and play fetch with a tennis ball for hours. Jaeger was a more quiet dog but he was really fluffy and warm to cuddle.

If Lucifer tried to say sorry, he sure didn't show by trying to swat his paw in my face, which I easily avoided. I loved Lucifer, I really did. He was a a good pet and was a good friend to play with in the house along with Haro. It's just that today was one of those days where he would be really mean and try to act so bossy.

"Artesia! Are you done yet? I need to take a shower soon." Asked Casval, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Almost done, just give me a minute and I'll dry him off." I responded. I went quick to work on getting Lucifer clean and managed to get the soap washed off of him. Satisfied, I turned off the water and let him come out of the tub.

"Meow." Instead of staying still Lucifer shaked himself off and started to run for the door, which I had left just a crack open. I then tried to follow him with a towel in hand.

"Lucifer, get back here!" I ran out the door, past Casval, and chased the cat a few meters. That was as far as I got when I collapsed onto the floor, starting to feel a great amount of pain. It started to get cold in the room and my eyes were getting swirly. My head felt like it was on fire, and I kept screaming because of the pain.

"Mom! Artesia collapsed on the floor, I think she's having a seizure. Call a doctor! It's okay Arty, I'm here. Your big brother Casval is here and he's not going anywhere. Stay with me Artesia, stay with me!" Casval said, panicking over the sight of me and trying to wrap his arms around me, unsure what to do. I kept moving like that for several seconds, the pain increasing.

"Make it stop, make it stop!" I cried out. _'Why is this happening to me, what's going on?'_

Eventually the pain started to stop and the coldness went away. Then I started to hear a voice, crying. _"Mom, mommy! Where are you?! Dad we have to get her!"_ It was a boy's voice, clearly sad and afraid, also familiar. I looked around but there was no one in the hallway besides me and Casval, mom being the only other person in the house and she was downstairs. I tried remembering who it was, and then it became clear to me. I knew that voice, it was my best friend.

"Amuro?"

 **A/N: Thus tragedy strikes. So yes, Kamaria is dead, having died in a tragic bombing presumably by Federal agents, while Amuro and Tem survived. The next chapter will go over the immediate aftermath and the grief that the Ray's are going through.**

 **On the issue of the Apsalus and Ginias working on it, the 08th MS Team never said when Ginias got the inspiration for the machine or how long he'd been working on it. I think that it was one of the many ideas that he had stored away, and brought to Degwin's attention at the beginning of the One Year War due to the need to invade Earth and Ginias' bet that the Apsalus would be the best possible machine to grant them victory. Here since Zeon is preparing for the war ten years in advance, Ginias gets to tinker around early, leading to a much more advanced MA by the time of the fighting. For those of you wondering if Aina will appear, she will become a slightly recurring character two years from now. If I could I would rewrite some of the earlier scenes to include her as a cameo, but rest assured there will be plenty of screen time for her in the future.**

 **Also I bet you guys are probably wondering what the last scene was about. Well it was done in order to show to things, Newtype bonds and psychic terror. While Amuro and Artesia have only known each other for a year, they've both managed to forge an incredible bond and have started unknowingly formed feelings for one another. While nothing would happen for Oldtypes, they both have formed a raw psychic link due to being highly powerful Newtypes, allowing one another to feel each other's thoughts and emotions, but only barely at the moment. A psychic terror is a huge mental trauma for Newtypes that occurs to them in times of immense stress or tragedy. Since Amuro watched his mother die right in front of him, he underwent one. And since Artesia is connected to him, she felt the shockwaves of said terror. This is something I'll explain a bit more in the next chapter in a small scene.**

 **Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more. Sieg Zeon!**


	29. Tragedy and Resolve Part 1

**February 22nd, 0070, Side 3, Zeon Zum City. Kycillia Zabi POV**

"This is terrorism right in the damned heart of Zeon, Kycillia! One of our citizens was just brutally murdered in broad daylight and our Mobile Suit development attacked. Are we just about to let this go unanswered? Let Zeon be turned into Afghanistan?!" Yelled a rather irate Gihren on the other side of the phone. It was late at night and the Homeland division along with ZCPD were scrambling to try and respond to the attempted assassination of the Ray family. Gihren opted to go personally to the site of the attack, due to whatever personal feelings he had for Tem Ray and his kin, while I stayed inside headquarters as normal. It would not due for the head of State Security to overreact to every incident that comes abound. _'Why is Gihren referencing Afghanistan though? The region's been docile for ages. At least until rather recently.'_

"Gihren this isn't some cheap crime show where the cases can be solved in thirty minutes or less. Investigations like these can take days, weeks even. It's just by pure luck that we were able to single down the suspects to a home repair company on the outskirts of Zeon. I know Jamitov wanted to take out our mobile suit programs but the way he went about it was entirely careless. I could've planned a much better assassination in my sleep."

"You shouldn't joke about this sister. A little boy lost his mother just hours ago." Gihren hissed.

"I don't see what you're getting so worked up about. Yes this is a tragedy, but it's one of the best possible outcomes for Zeon. Not only is Doctor Ray unharmed, but so is that powerful Newtype of his as well. Kamaria Ray is an acceptable casualty."

"Acceptable? ACCEPTABLE?!" roared Gihren, forcing me to move the phone a few centimeters away. "One of our citizens just died Kycillia, an innocent family just lost their mother and their lives changed forever. A citizens of Zeon was murdered all due to the whims of Jaburo, and we allowed this to happen! The day this becomes acceptable is the day that Zeon really is the nazi hellhole that the Terran propaganda likes to go on about. Now I expect the bastard who did it to be put down and for a retaliation to be set at Jaburo immediately. Your the head of Security sister, do your job!" Gihren finished, abruptly hanging up. I threw the smartphone across the desk at Gihren's statement, how he could possibly think that I would just allow such acts to occur. _'Honestly Gihren, you're becoming far too soft and emotional these days. Father would never certainly act in this childish manner and the old you would brush it off.'_ Though that did certainly bring up the question, whether or not it was a good thing that Gihren had changed.

Gihren may have been a heartless bastard that would ruin the family for his own gain a few years ago, but he certainly knew when to do what was necessary and wouldn't flinch for even a second. Now he always hesitates, tries to take the moral high ground and go through long complicated schemes just to keep public face instead of going the most practical route. Just take the referendum, we could've easily just declared father Sovereign and do away with the old Republic in an instant. We had a supermajority and no one would question it within Side 3. But no, Gihren has to take the legal route and go through this convoluted election to achieve the same result. Oh sure father's victory was not in doubt, but it was time and resources that didn't need to be spent. _'At least I can trust his word now. And the family seems to be closer than we used to, like back in the good days with Naliss. That's better, right?'_

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, "Lady Kycillia, Lieutenant Colonel Khushrenada wishes to see you."

"Really? Send him in." The door opened and in waltzed Treize Khushrenada, a Terran defector from Federal Intelligence and the recently appointed head of the OSS' Logistics Department, a rather mundane term to refer to an important division within the organization which safeguarded Zeon's technological advancements from the Federation and supported the reformation and growth of the armed forces.

"My Lady, I am grateful that you spared time for myself in your ever busy schedule." Treize said in his rather deep voice while bowing, as he should to a princess of Zeon. _'Though this man does have a far greater claim to nobility than I.'_ Treize originally hailed from Luxembourg and came from rather high status as the grandnephew of the Grand Duke, making him 14th in line to the Grand Duchy and one of the few actual nobles within the Principality outside of the Zabi family. A status that showed in his appearance with a variation of the Zeon uniform into royal blue and the addition of a black cape and saber to his left side.

"What do you want Treize? I did not summon you." I demanded. Whenever anyone within the agency wished to speak to me on their accord, it was always to fulfill some sort of request. No one just makes casual small talk to a Zabi after all.

"You wound me my Lady. To presume that I would only seek to demand favors from the Princess of Zeon." Treize said in false hurt, "However you are correct in that there is a small request I have at the moment. Nothing too major, and it is one I believe that would lie within my responsibilities and benefit us both in the long run. May I have a seat?" Treize asked, I nodded and he pulled up the chair directly in front of my desk, sitting down in it with a small PC at his side. "My Lady, I was about to head home for the day an hour ago when I had heard of the rather unfortunate assassination attempt on the dear Doctor Ray and his family. I would like to ask permission to take over the investigation personally." I raised my eyebrows at this. Everyone within the Office had their own place within the heirarchy of State Security and their own roles to fulfill. It wouldn't due for anyone to try and go over their bounds, even with just the smallest of responsibilities such as this. Such actions unless sanctioned would create ambition, and with ambition comes infighting and dissent.

"The assassination lies outside of your jurisdiction Treize. This is a matter of Homeland Security, not Logistics. Do you have so little faith in the men and women who I assigned to this case?"

"Not at all my Lady, it is not a matter of if they can solve the assassination, rather how they would most apply it. The Ray Assassination is not merely some petty act by the Federation in order to punish Zeon and inhibit our technological growth, rather it is merely a piece of the greater puzzle, one that I have been working on since my arrival here at Zeon."

"What is there to discuss about?" I retorted. "The Federation has been against us since the election and they wish to reprimand Side 3 for the creation of the Principality. Zeon is invested in mobile suits, and the Federation took a shot at one of Zeon's key minds behind mobile suits, therefore delaying our production if they had succeeded, it's that simple."

Treize made a slight nod before continuing, "If one were to look at it from an outsider's perspective, then yes this is little more than mere sabotage. Such actions though are not fitting of Jamitov Hymen. In fact I would say there is a good possibility that Jamitov was entirely unaware of what took place."

I rose my eyes at that one. While Federal Intelligence refused to work with the OSS unless there was a cross-colonial case that absolutely required cooperation, there was still much that was known about the structure of the Earth Sphere's largest intelligence organization. One of those was how Jamitov, (similar to my own style) liked to micromanage the entire agency and only put people into position who were little more than his lapdogs, regardless of ability. The claim that someone could order an assassination without his knowing, was somewhat hard to believe.

"Do you have any proof to back this up Treize? You may be one of the best within Security on strategic analysis, but that does not mean that you can just throw wild accusations in the air."

Treize merely smirked in response, though it was so small that few could barely notice. "You may have a rather extensive profile of Jamitov my Lady, but I have dealt with the man personally. And while I have been kept out of the loop of Intellegence's largest operations, I have worked with him on the past in several lower cases to notice his style. Simply put, Jamitov only deals in absolutes. When he wants something dealt with he will make sure that the problem is finished in one stroke. Take for example the assassination of Zeon Deikun and the attempt on Lord Sasro." Treize said. Everyone within the OSS knew without a doubt that it was the Federation's fault for Deikun's death and the attack on my brothers, something that all of Side 3 held belief in without a doubt as well. Unfortunately, there was little solid proof to reveal the public secret with the exception of Gihren's knowledge from his long silent contact in Jaburo. Unfortunately Treize was involved in neither, though his revelations after the defection showed that there were specific contingency plans in place for both occasions, created months in advance of the dates.

"At the time of Deikun's death, Side 3 was at a crossroads upon which path it would take. The buildup of the Newtype ideal had been spreading in rumors and isolated cases for months now before Lord Gihren revealed the existence of Newtypes to the general public. In addition Zeon was just beginning the Miracle upon which it has become the largest and most advanced economy within the Earth sphere, something no one would have anticipated would last til now. Had Deikun lived, then he would become the true prophesied savior that his followers had placed such faith in. The revelation that Newtypes had indeed existed from the man whose words birthed the concept of Newtypes, would have started a vast social revolution which would topple Federal leadership overnight. No offense my lady, but no within the Zabi family, not even Lord Degwin and Lord Gihren, could possibly lead the Newtype race like Deikun could had he lived. Oh sure Newtypes may be prospering within Side 3, but Newtypes as a whole throughout the Earth sphere lack the leadership of a messiah to guide them. Something that Zeon Deikun would surely have done, being transformed into a figure that could easily rival Jesus Christ or the Prophet Mohammad."

I scowled at the theories that Treize presented which was likely true. While I could respect Zeon's work ethic and goals, the man was a naive philosopher who was put into a position of absolute power that he did not deserve (something I could never say in public or else the family's popularity would be reversed entirely). Zeon could guide people, but he did not know how to lead them. His death was an unfortunate but absolute necessary to land Zeon into the leadership of the Zabis, since we are the only ones capable of defending Side 3 against the Federation.

"Besides the sociological impacts, there's also the practical and more immediate point that the man was going to declare absolute independence from the Federation. Something that would surely invite Tianem to land an armada onto our doorstep." I made a mental note of Treize's usage of the word our. It seemed that after only a little more than half a year the man considered himself more a Spacenoid than the Terran aristocrat that he was.

"Then there's also the attempted killings of your Lord Sasro and Lord Dozle. While it would would make more sense to have your father or Lord Gihren killed, the death of your two other eldest brothers would have served a far more equally devastating purpose. Had the Army and OSS not been able to restore order in the aftermath, or if either one or both of your brother's had died, then chaos would reign and an open civil war erupting between the Zabi supporters and those of the Ral family over who to succeed Deikun and who was responsible for Deikun's death. Something which also would've occurred had Jimba Ral not have the mind of a madman and the skills of a skilled politician, instead going off on his suicide mission and only giving the Zabis more power. Quite a case of both irony and poetic justice."

"You make good points but that is only an assumption of Jamitov's character, that still doesn't justify why I should hand the reigns of the investigation to you." I questioned.

"I was just about to get to that. Besides the fact that this does not fit Jamitov's MO, the assassination of the Ray family is something which I can concur to lie in the fault of a third party. One who is very interested in both the creation of mobile suits, and the economic downfall of Zeon. Tell me Lady Kycillia, what do you know of Anaheim Electronics?"

I was taken aback by the direction where Treize was going. While Anaheim was rather sleazy in their dealings and had the all the stereotypical trappings of a megacorporation, they had never stooped to such direct actions against Zeon up until this point.

"What fool doesn't know of Anaheim." I answered. "They are the largest private company within the Earth sphere and the current heavyweight behind in the electronics and manufacturing industry. Our latest colonies were even built by them. Of course they have been losing hundreds of billions in revenue to Zeon companies. Cyberware and Zeonic being the foremost." I said with a hint of pride.

"Very true. As I'm sure you are also well aware of, Anaheim has become the Federation's number one source of outsourcing when it comes to the Armament Reinforcement Plan which has started to take full effect this year. Recent findings from the Japanese Resistance, Silicon Valley, and our network in Von Braun have revealed something of a far more sinister nature than a relationship of a corporate nature. It has come to light that Anaheim itself is now becoming an unofficial subsidiary of Jaburo. Jamitov Hymen has been seen on multiple occasions visiting Martha and Melanie Carbine within their corporate headquarters, and the corporation has now become filled with agents of Federal Intelligence. Transforming their relationship into a sort of "Axis of Evil" to quote President Gephardt. Now Anaheim's main goal seems to be the economic destruction of Zeon, partaking in hostile corporate takeovers of dozens of failing businesses in the Earth sphere in order to be Zeon's true economic oppositions and one day surpass our corporations, ending the Zeon Miracle."

"Why was I not made aware of this?" I demanded. I knew that Anaheim was looking into corporate sabotage, but nothing on this level.

"I have been cooperating with Ryan and Counterintelligence for the past month in order to find out how far this metaphorical rabbit's hole went and to just what extent Anaheim is now embedded within the Federation. Ryan is going to present these findings to you, but he gave me permission to alert you of the specifics at this point in time. Mainly due to the fact that their integration within the Federation, and the attempted assassination of Tem Ray, all leads to one thing. The production of mobile suits. They are starting my Lady."

At this point I was midly in shock by Treize's findings. Our mobile suit program was perhaps the key piece of Zeon's war plans with the Federation. Thanks to Gihren and Dozle's insistence, they were now intricately intertwined with the Space Force, Army, and Marines. Alongside the presence of Minovsky physics on the battlefield, mobile suits are supposed to assure us of total victory. Any headstart that the Federation receives at this point could prove deadly to Zeon.

"How far and for how long have they been going at it?" I demanded coldly.

"The good news is that Anaheim's mobile suit program, "Project Gjallarhorn" as they call it, is only in the early stages of its infancy, if you could call it that. They barely have the resources for full-scale production and most of their highly valued members are little more than recent doctorates with degrees in robotics, thanks to Lord Gihren managing to recruit near the entirety of the Earth Sphere's brightest minds on the subject. Most of what they are going off if is the reverse engineering of the civilian Waff's something that even in that department there is little progress in. Their current head is Doctor Franklin Bidan, whose wife and him were on the Blacklist of potential recruitment to Zeon before this juncture. For now they are mainly focused on the creation of a second version of the Guntank, but there is already designs and theories popping up of an original mobile suit. Specifically this model." Treize then turned on his PC and typed for a few seconds to bring up a file. My computer was alert with a notification from Treize, with an email attachment of said files. I opened it up to reveal the schematics of what Treize was referring to.

"The RX-77-1A, Guncannon." I whispered softly. It was a rather clunky design with a similar build to the Zaku. The main difference being that this model had less emphasis on joint protection, two large cannons strapped on its back, along with a head unit that sported a visor rather than the Zaku's monoeye. To be honest with its red and white colors, its appearance looked more like a children's toy than an actual weapon of war.

"Is this thing in any way superior to the Zaku?"

Treize let out a soft smile at the question. "You should be glad to note that the Guncannon at its current stage unless it is vastly overhauled, is far inferior to the Zaku-I and the current plans for the Zaku-II. The Guncannon is simply a far more mobile version of the Guntank that can allow it to operate in zero gravity and in rough terrain where the Guntank cant proceed. It's rather unfit for close combat and lacks the versatility of the Zaku. In fact I could say that the Val Varo can best it in single combat. So far evidence shows that this is the design that Anaheim is going for, though it has barely gone beyond the drawing board. One thing I should note is that this is not a design that Franklin Bidan had come up with. In actuality it's a more developed version of a previously submitted version from a young Doctor in Vancouver. I believe his name was..."

"Tem Ray." I finished, connecting the dots on why Treize was wanting to take over the investigation. It all made sense now. Anaheim is trying desperately to catch up in mobile suit production, and Jaburo wants to have somewhat of a head start since they know that we're so focused on it. And who better to copy than the leading mind on mobile suits, someone who at this point represents a threat to Anaheim's interests.

"I see your point Treize. All right, I'll give you permission to head the Ray investigation. However this does not mean that you can skip your duties in Logistics. I want to know what Jamitov, and Anaheim in extension have planned for Zeon. If the Treasury's predictions are correct, then this could lead to a brutal economic war in the middle of the decade alongside this Cold War that is brewing. They must be stopped at all costs."

"As you wish." Treize then stood up and bowed, however he made no motion for the door.

"Is there something else Khushrenada?"

"Well Lady Kycillia, there is nothing else that I want, rather there is a matter that I wish to be clarified. While investigating extensively into the deals of Anaheim, I did an intense analysis of Martha Carbine and her relation to recent developments within the company. It turns out that the Office has already built up an ongoing investigation around her and the rest of the Vists family, more specifically something along the lines of a mysterious object called Laplace's Box."

I froze at that moment. _'Damn you Khushrenada, you're too clever for your own good.'_ The ongoing investigation into the Laplace conspiracy and the nature of it in relation to the Vists and the Federation, was something that only a handful of people within the OSS was even aware of. While I had no clue of what the box was, based on all evidence it was something that could bring the Federation down. As such, few people could know about it as possible.

"And why should this Laplace's Box interest you Treize. Need I remind you that you are still fresh and little but a Terran migrant to Zeon. You and that daughter of yours are but a small speck in the grand ongoings of the Universal Century." I warned, subtlety moving towards a hidden alarm on my desk to send in guards should Treize try to use this moment to blackmail me.

Instead of gloating or trying to counter with his own threat, Treize simply let out a small smile of satisfaction. "Laplace's Box is of no interest to me personally my Lady, judging by your reaction, my curiosity has been satisfied for the time being. You should know though that I was already aware of it before my arrival to Zeon."

"You mean Luxembourg is somehow involved in this?" I asked, still on guard for a possible strike.

"Well not the state no, but my Granduncle, Duke Joffre, does have close relations with Syam Vist and I did manage to uncover mentions of this box in several of their conversations, though nothing important beyond vague riddles and metaphors." I slightly, though not visibly, relaxed at this new information. 'So even the old blood of Terra know of the Box. Just what the hell is this damn thing?'

"Personally my Lady I am no fan of the Vist Foundation. They are nothing more than propped up scum who have obtained their position through deceit and the controlling of others. They are not exactly well-loved among the other plutocrats and nobility of Earth, how this little family of art curators have managed to arise above them and are second in power only to the Marcenas. Whatever this Laplace's Box is, I suggest that you go after it with the entire might of the OSS. The Vist's while despicable are not ones to be trifled with, yet I would love nothing more than to see their downfall. For with it would be the end of the Federation. Good day my Lady." Treize then bowed and with a swift wave of his cape, left my office, leaving me to contemplate these recent findings.

 _'Some days I just hate my job.'_

 **Kaiser Gihren POV**

Slowly I dredged myself into my office. I slumped into my chair and planted my face onto the table, a heavy depression in the air. _'Kamaria Ray is dead, killed by a fucking bomb right in Zum City. I thought I could give Amuro a better life, a happy home in Zeon. Now I think I've given him a far worse experience than anything in canon._ ' Originally Amuro's parents had divorced in a presumably rough legal battle with Amuro joining Tem in Side 7 while Kamaria stayed on Earth. In some ways canon can be considered just as bad with Amuro abandoning his mother to fight with White Base while his father became crazy from oxygen deprivation. Yet back then Amuro had severed his ties with his old family fully and had started a new one with the crew of White Base. Here he still had a happy home life, only to see it all literally blow up in his face and his mother die a horrible and violent death.

"Was...was it something that I did wrong? Could I have prevented this? Should I have done something different...WELL SHOULD I?!" I demanded, banging my fist on my desk while yelling out into the night, one but the Royal Guards outside the door anywhere near to hear. Tears started to form in my eyes, the guilt from allowing the situation to occur starting to well up inside of me.

"God, I'm so stupid." I lamented. There's no way in hell that I could be able to save everyone and create a perfect ending. I was lucky, damn lucky that I had been inserted into Gihren, having all this power and control in my hand. Thanks to my position I could get any policy within Side 3 enacted at the snap of my fingers. For three years I had planned, for three years I had done my best to look into every possible scenario that could achieve Zeon victory, anything that could end the stagnation of the Universal Century and the Federation. _'How the hell can I save two billion people though if I can't protect the family of child whose supposed to help us win the damn war?!'_

I had become too cautious, too fucking complacent with everything that's been happening. After managing to save Sasro and successfully take total control of the government, that's...that's when I think things started slipping. I let too much of Gihren take over and I had become cocky and arrogant considering my new role in life. I managed to survive being killed the first time, and change Zeon for the better. What could possibly go wrong? _'Everything, every damn thing.'_

That wasn't even the worst part though. I could live with the failure, I could move on and learn from my mistakes. It was the fate of the real victims of this attack that shock me to the core. Arriving on the scene and seeing both Tem and Amuro huddled together, both having lifeless looks in their eyes, as if the world had ended, sent shivers up my spine. To see the firefighters drag Kamaria's corpse out of the ruins in a bodybag, and Amuro try and run towards it, desperately seeking to make contact with his mom as if there were the faintest of chances that she were alive, that was something I can never erase out of my memory.

Leaving the crime scene and after speaking to Kycillia, a realization came to me, it was partly my fault. I may not have ordered the hit or pull the trigger, but I didn't do a damn thing to make sure such a thing never occurred. I let the OSS detail off of the Rays after a few weeks because Jaburo had simply accepted Tem's defection on paper. I could've given them a quiet life but I thrust Tem into the spotlight by forcing Sakamoto to hire him as his premier designer on mobile suits, Flanagan's obsession to obtain Amuro probably only adding fuel to the flames of attention. I may have given them a new life but I never once sought to secure it. For all intents and purposes Amuro may now have had it better in canon than anything I could provide him.

Trying to clear my thoughts and repent for my mistakes , I make the sign of the cross and begin praying, "Oh heavenly father, in the wake of this immense tragedy I ask of you to please watch over the Ray family, that Tem and Amuro may be able to pull through this immense struggle and come to peace with the passing of Kamaria. That they may rebuild a new life in order to have a semblance of what once was. I ask of you to watch over the soul of Kamaria Ray, that she may enter into heaven and stand by your side in the time of judgement. And I...I"

I struggle to continue forward, my eyes already drenched in tears and breathing heavy, unable to speak until a few moments of calm, "I ask of you to please bless Zeon in the time moving forward, that the Spacenoids who call this nation home won't have to suffer for the faults and actions of our family, being forced into continued Federal rule. I am forever grateful to you oh Lord for giving me this second chance at life and helping humanity in the Universal Century. No matter what happens I cannot allow history to repeat itself. Please don't let these tragedies continue, don't let more people die because of me. Please God?" The last sentence was more of a question than a request. For I knew that this was the point when things will start to go downhill, where the road to war will officially begin. From now on I couldn't screw up. This was no longer just some fantasy, some story that I could manipulate to my will. This was reality, people would live and die because of my actions, and I must suffer the consequences.

"Amen." I say quietly, making the sign of the cross and then slumping forward on my desk, depressed at the events of the last few hours.

Eager to get rid of this depression, even momentarily, I reach out and open a drawer in my desk where I usually kept liquor to treat important guests. The container inside was an American brand of Bourbon, from the year 0051. I open the flask and bring it up to my face, forgoing the usage of a glass.

"Never again." I declare. "Please God never again." I then pour the bourbon down my throat, continuing to do so over the next hour.  
 **  
February 23rd, 0070. Cecilia Irene POV  
**  
Walking into the capitol early in the morning was a rather intense experience. To be surrounded by the highest seat of power in Side 3 and walk through the halls where in the absence of politicians and bureaucrats, you were nothing but a small speck in the vast grandeur of the capitol. Sadly the place wouldn't last for much longer as Parliament had decided late last year that they would tear down the capitol district and begin to rebuild and modernize the area with entirely new structures, the center of all of it being a grand palace that will serve as the head of legislature and the executive departments, the Zenith. On a realpolitik standpoint I can understand the reasoning and why Gihren and the rest of the Zabis would support it, building the Zenith would tear down one of the last remaining symbols of the Deikun era and replace it with a living monument to the power of the Zabi dynasty and the ambition and prosperity of the new Principality. Still I was sad to see such a building go for the pure nostalgia of it all, to no longer roam the halls where I had received my first job in the upper echelons of government, helping Gihren enact his grand visions for the Earth sphere.

Then again I was likely part of a small minority of Zeon citizens who felt that way nowadays. Too many people still attributed the Capitol to the trauma that was inflicted upon the nation by the Jimbajacking, how one of Zeon's most loyal followers could turn traitor and kill those who were once his loyal allies, nearly destroying the dream that Zeon had worked so hard to build. Despite most of the destruction having been repaired, the capitol remained a symbol of Democracy's worst failure in space. Not to mention the personal trauma associated with it and how some surviving MP's had PTSD merely by roaming the halls and working in their offices.

Today the building was exceptionally sparse, few inhabiting the premises besides the janitorial crew and security. Since it was Saturday most members of the legislative body and the various executive departments would be home with their families for the weekend, few staying to work besides those in the office of Lord Degwin and Gihren, along with the tourist bureau who allowed public access to the capitol. The only times that Parliament had to meet on the weekends was during times of crisis or when they had to extend debates on certain bills. Since the Zabis came to power however such occurrences only happened twice with a near shutdown of life-support for a colony, alongside the passing of a welfare reform bill. Just another aspect to show how the Zabis got work done.

I finally managed to reach the 10th floor where Gihren's office was located. Surprisingly there was already two Royal Guards standing at attention outside his door, both presumably staying there all night from the unwavering, yet exhausted looks on their faces. This was something surprising as Gihren would usually work half-day shifts on Saturday and on most weekends would prefer to stay at home, with the man refusing to work himself or I on Sundays due to his beliefs. The only reason I was here today was to gather some files pertaining to the upcoming elections next year. _'Why did Gihren stay home in his office all night? Nothing important is going on within Parliament and he would've called me if he needed me. Is he planning some sort of big project?'  
_  
Instead of going to work at my desk, I decided to approach the door in order to investigate what was going on. "Ah Miss Irene, I didn't expect to see you here today." said the Royal Guard on the left, Jared.

"I came to do some work in preparing a strategy for next year's elections. The primaries are going to begin in a few months and there's going to be a plethora of challengers this time now that we're going to have an actual election this time. Lord Sasro is also prepping something in the works, some sort of reformation of the Social Democrats." I explained, the other two guards just nodding along. Their job was to protect the royal family's life, not engage in party politics after all. "Why is Gihren here so early though? I didn't get any calls last night. Has something developed in the capitol?"

"You didn't hear the news last night, ma'am?" Asked the guard on the left, Omar.

"No what happened?"

The two guards looked at each other for a moment before Omar continued, "There was a terrorist strike in the residential district last night. The Ray family was hit and the mother was believed to have been died. Probably an assassination by those Feddie fuc...I mean the federals ma'am."

I gasped slightly in shock over the news. I met Doctor Ray quite often due to his business with Gihren, and while I didn't interact with him too personally he seemed like a good man, his son Amuro was also quite adorable and Gihren seemed to have a large vested interest in him. It's nothing but a crime that they had to lose their mother, especially if Jaburo had ordered the hit.

"Though what does that have to do with Gihren? If it was just a minor terrorist act then Lady Kycillia should be dealing with it herself, I don't see any reason why the Prime Minister has to personally deal with it."

The two gaurds looked at each other again, as if unsure how to respond for the reasoning of Gihren's actions or just unwilling to say. After about ten seconds Jared spoke again, "I believe that Lord Gihren may consider himself responsible for what took place, either he by failing to adequately protect the Ray's or not going hard enough against Federal Intelligence that this sort of scenario would happen in the first place. After all Lord Sasro almost lost his life to a bombing, there's no reason that Lord Gihren would want that to ever happen again in Zeon, especially to a family he's grown so fond of."

I nodded in understanding. It was one reason why I refused to have my family involved in my work life or try to actively advance beyond my current position. Being Chief of Staff for the Prime Minister was enough of a political target, it was scary enough to think that just being associated with the Zabis could make you an enemy of the Federation. "He's, he's alright isn't he." I asked. I didn't think that Gihren could possibly have a crisis over this, he was just too strong-willed for such a thing to occur. If he's refused to leave his office in hours though...

"Lord Gihren is fine, he's just passed out at his desk, though he did consume a significant quality of alcohol. We'd be horrible at our jobs if we allowed the Crown Prince to harm himself on our watch ma'am. I'd say he's just stressed out, but Lord Gihren will pull through. Although I would like to ask miss Irene, could you possibly wake him and well, talk to Lord Gihren?" Jared asked.

"Me?"

"Well he does act rather friendly and impersonal around you miss Irene, I would think that you would be a better candidate to converse with him than either of us. We're just here to protect the royal family, not act as companions or friends to him. I think that if Jared or I tried to do so, then Lord Gihren would be rather irate and kick us out. He wouldn't do such a thing with you."

"Oh alright. I'll see what I can do." The two guardsmen then moved to the side and allowed me to enter into Gihren's office. I tried hard though to hide a blush at their implications of how I was _close_ to Gihren, something which I already knew was true on some level. _'At least they didn't suggest anything too personal. I don't think I could bear it if rumors started flying around the capitol.'  
_  
I walked through the door only to find the Prime Minister passed out at his desk, an empty bottle of bourbon in his hand. Thankfully it looked as though Gihren didn't do anything too crazy as little else was disorganized throughout the office, everything remaining inplace. I carefully walked up to him, making sure not to startle Gihren in his current state.

"Gihren, Gihren. Wake up." I said, gently nudging him on the shoulder.

"OH HEY LOOK IT'S BIG ZAM!" Gihren yelled out, startling me and almost causing me to trip over.

Gihren looked around for a few seconds, seemingly trying to get his bearings on where he was at the moment. "Kycillia?" he asked. _'Probably must be hungover. I may be a ginger but we don't look that alike.'_

"No Gihren, it's Cecilia. You know, your Chief of Staff." I replied. Gihren took a few seconds to comprehend before slightly nodding.

"Oh right, sorry about that. What are you doing in my room anyways?" Gihren's face then turned bright red with sweat pouring down, "Oh GOD! We didn't do it, did we?!"

I felt my face becoming the same color as my uniform due to the accusation. "No, NO! Nothing happened last night, I was at home. Besides this isn't even your house anyways, we're in your office and you're fully dressed." _'Though is he embarrassed because he thought it was me or that he did it anyways. No, bad Cecilia! Don't have thoughts like that!'_

Gihren let loose a large sigh of relief, "Ok, that's good. I'm sorry I jumped to that conclusion. God, this fucking hangover is just starting to set in and I'm usually not at my best when I wake up sober, much less when I'm drunk. I know that you wouldn't do something like that on a whim, it's just that you pass out drunk and you wake up with a beautiful woman in front of you." _'Wait what did he just call me!'_ Whatever Gihren meant it seemed that he wasn't fazed at all by it, either he didn't know what he just said or he didn't seem to care. "Hey I didn't say anything weird in my sleep did I?" _'What, besides what you just said?'  
_  
"You woke up yelling something about a 'Big Zam', whatever that means. Besides that I didn't hear anything else." Gihren at first seemed scared when I talked about the Big Zam, but then managed to remain calm.

"Oh right, that. It's a mobile armor I've been thinking of recently. Supposed to be a mobile fortress with a megaparticle canon equivalent to the ones located on a Gwazine. Haven't really put it into schematics yet." Gihren explained. After that an awkward silence settled in, neither one of us comfortable enough to talk or know what to bring up. Eventually I decided to address the elephant in the room.

"Gihren...what exactly happened to you last night. I heard about the Ray's and I know what happened is sad, but you don't need to beat yourself up over it. I didn't even think you were that close to Kamaria Ray."

Gihren seems to be at a loss of words to explain his actions. He opens and closes his mouth repeatedly, trying to find the right words. "I guess in hindsight I may have overreacted. Every day I sign off on orders that either place people's lives in danger or take the life of those who may be considered a threat to Zeon. I've attended dozens of funerals of either state officials or common citizens who got caught in some great tragedy. Hell, I watched my own mother die before my own eyes because the fucking Terrans wouldn't give us the damned funds to build a modern health system!" Gihren yells, slamming his fists violently on the table. He takes a few deep breaths before continuing on.

"I think, I think that's part of the reason why. When I watched my own mother die, because of this hideous disease that we cured decades ago, I swore to myself that I would never experience that same pain again. Naliss happened and I told myself that I shouldn't care, that she wasn't _mine_ , but still the pain was there and Garma will never know what it's like to have a mother. Three years ago I made a pledge to myself that I would make Zeon a great nation. That everyone in the colonies could live a good life, that they wouldn't have to suffer for any reason whatsoever. The Ray family was part of that pledge, more specifically young Amuro.

I know this may sound strange, but when I saw that boy I knew that Zeon had found itself a great gift, a Newtype who could do a great many things for us, for the Earth sphere. Even if Tem Ray was a klutz with mobile suits, I would've done everything in my power to give them a good life. I wanted Amuro to be happy, to prove that the Zeon dream could be achieved and that we don't have to suffer in the stars. And if I could take him under my wing and mentor him, then all the better. Yesterday though, I saw what those actions cost. I made the Zabi family patrons of the Ray's, making them a huge walking target in the eyes of the Federation. I thought that everything was in the clear, that nothing bad could go wrong. That arrogance led to their house being blown up and their own mother dying in agony. I failed to protect mine, I failed to protect Kamaria Ray, if I can't save a simple life then how can I win a war against the Federation! One nation against a planet and six Sides, two billion against the rest of humanity. How can I possibly do such a thing!" Gihren shrieked, tears starting to slowly form in his eyes.

It felt wrong seeing Gihren in such a vulnerable state, watching as the Prince of Zeon broke down from the stress of his daily life. At that moment a realization struck me, that this may have been how Gihren felt everyday. This was a man who dedicated his whole life and his career to secure the betterment of others. While some claimed that Gihren was nothing more than an ambitious tyrant who sought to rule Side 3 as his personal despot, he never once tried to abuse his powers or rule with an iron fist. He was just someone who wanted to correct this messed up life that we call the Universal Century, a single man against the entire Earth sphere. _'How can I have been so blind, how could I not see how he struggles when I'm next to him on a daily basis?'_

Wanting to provide some comfort, anything to ease his pain, I did something I never thought I would do, I reached out and hugged Gihren Zabi.

"Gihren look at me, a great many blame can be placed on the attack yesterday, but absolutely none of it lies in you. You did what you thought was best and there was plenty of good that came out of it. You are not the person who ordered the hit, you didn't place that bomb. What happened was a tragedy but at the end of the day that's life. We don't know what's going to happen, we can't possibly prepare for every single thing that comes our way. You've dedicated your whole career towards helping others and hundreds of millions have you to thank for a better life. Be proud of what you do.

After today all you have to do is try your best and make sure nothing like this ever happens again. And when it does, you make sure to make the Federation suffer for every life lost. Almost a year ago you asked me if I was willing to help take part creating a better world for the Spacenoids. I've been by your side since then, and I can't wait to see you make such a world come true."

Gihren looked into my face as I stared back at his. I didn't know what came to me, why I felt the need to take things so personal. I merely hoped that somehow I had got through to him.

After several seconds Gihren actually surprised me by reciprocating that hug, "Thanks Cecilia. That...that was something that I needed. I've become so focused on creating perfect scenarios and basking in my families success that I forgot how this wouldn't be an easy task, a struggle that I have to earn. I also tend to forget just how better things have gotten especially in comparison to how they could be, how it should have been." Gihren then gets up and goes for his trenchcoat on the coat hanger.

"I think I'll head home and get some proper sleep. Father will probably be mad, and it's a good thing it's not a weekday or else we'll have the press and those damn Deikunists hounding over me. I'll also need some time to think, on how to move forward, on how to plan better for the decade to come."

Before reaching the door Gihren turns to me, "Cecilia, you've been a great help this past year. I couldn't do much of my work without your assistance. You're a good person Cecilia, you deserve better things."

I smiled meekly, "Just doing my duty."

Gihren smiles back before heading out the door, Omar and Jared flanking him as he strolls down the hallway.

I'm left alone in the office, pondering over the actions that I had just took a minute ago and where exactly I now stood with Gihren Zabi.

 **A/N: Hello everyone, Kaiser Chris here with another exciting edition of Gihern's Glory! I apologize for the lack of updates in the past month, in these last few weeks I've been trying to adjust to college life along with plenty of other events, most notably Hurricane Harvey. In addition this was one of my hardest chapters in trying to express in my best possible manor, the aftermath of Kamaria's death and how it would affect several different characters in the plot. A lot of different sub-plots have been set up here, with some being put into fruition in future chapters soon. In regards to the current chapter, the content that I originally planned is going to be split into two parts. Basically the second half that you haven't seen is the one which shows the reactions of Amuro and Tem, and how both of them move forward. I had finished part 1 last weekend and the delay is a mix of school stuff and trying to figure out how to do part 2. I decided to split this chapter into two parts for two main reasons; firstly the entire chapter together would've been at least two or three times as long as my regular ones which would've been an overload, and secondly I felt that the tone and main plots of the halves conflicted with each other, which is why I split them up. Part 2 will be uploaded sometime in the near future.**

 **For now let me answer some of the questions that are bound to arise.**

 **Yes Treize Khushrenada is making an appearance here in Zeon. I had been debating it for whether or not it would be a good idea, but since I already included Adam I thought why not. Treize here has a notably different background compared to Wing, but he's still roughly similar character-wise. Here Romefeller and OZ don't exist, however Treize was still born of a prominent Luxembourger family who are important Federation supporters, thus him managing to rank so high in Intelligence. However his time spent under Jamitov showed Treize how corrupt and stagnant the Federation is, it hardened him and killed a lot of his naivety and innocence. With the rise of Zeon in recent years, Treize sees an opportunity to end the stagnation of the Universal Century and have some actual change and progress for the Sides, thus he defects willingly in order to bring his own contributions to the New Order. Mariemaia still exists as Treize's daughter, though she has always been in his custody and was raised by Treize (Leia exists and I will get to her background later). Treize moving forward will be involved primarily in the head of the OSS' research division, being heavily involved in mobile suit production and the creation of Zeon's superweapons. Hope you enjoyed my portrayal of him, something that will be interesting moving forward with a certain sub-plot I have planned for him**

 **So some of you might be wondering why Kaiser Gihren reacted so strongly to Kamaria's death when he wasn't close to her. Basically Gihren feels partly responsible as he dropped the ball on protecting the Rays and did nothing to prepare himself for this. Up until now everything has been going in the way of the Zabis and Gihren has suffered little to no loss. Here while Kamaria was never close to Gihren, he sort of tried to develop a mentorship to Amuro, and is vastly disturbed and depressed on seeing him in the aftermath of the assassination. So in the aftermath Kaiser Gihren turns to God and partially drowns himself in alcohol to make the misery go away. My intention was to sort of show Kaiser Gihren at his weakest and open his eyes that the world that he inhabits is now a reality, that everything can't go his way, and that real actions do have consequences. It's sort of a great realization that matures and prepares him for when the world really starts. Then there's also the part with Cecilia that has him open up to her and reveal to Cecilia that even Gihren is a human being to, starting for the two to connect on a very personal level and laying the foundations for an eventual relationship.**

 **Next time we pick off with the Ray boys and finish with the immediate fallout of the Ray assassination. Chapter 31 will be sometime mid-to late October and will feature a couple of important characters from Zeta joining the plot. Thanks for reading this latest update and stay tuned next time for "Signs of Zeta". Sieg Zeon!**


	30. Tragedy and Resolve Part 2

**March 4th 0070. Zum City, Principality of Zeon. Tem Ray POV  
**  
"KAMARIA!" I awoke with an intense coldsweat and rolled on the side of the bed, falling onto the hard floor headfirst. "Dammit." I curse under my breath, rubbing my forehead and hoping that a damn bruise wouldn't appear. My vision was groggy at first and initially I thought I was still dreaming since this looked nothing like my room. After a couple of seconds it all came back to me that the house was still gone, and that this was merely a guest room at the Deikun manor.

After...after Kamaria was taken, Amuro and I were left with no where to go since almost all of our possessions were taken by the explosion and whatever property we had left on Earth was presumably confiscated by the Canadian government and sold to someone else. We were offered protective housing by the OSS in order to lay low until they could determine that any further threats were eliminated, but I couldn't accept their offer at first as I couldn't have Amuro live in some cold and barren safehouse and take him away from school. Luckily the Deikuns stepped in immediately and offered us shelter until we could find a new house, or maybe be given a residence by either Zeonic or the OSS with extended protection. As the immediate family of Zeon Deikun, Astraia and her children had security, second only to the Zabis. The manor was constantly watched 24/7 and the building itself was rebuilt to withstand a moderate terrorist attack.

"Dammit, can I ever move on?" It was barely a week but already it seemed years since I lost Kamaria. No longer will I be able to wake up to the sight of her chestnut brown hair, see her beautiful smile and hear her life, come home from a hard day's work into her loving arms, and worse of all Kamaria will never be able to watch Amuro grow up. _'Things were going so good here in Zeon. We had gotten past the fights and were going to have an actual future. Now, what's the point?'_

I turned my head towards the clock on the nightstand and panicked upon seeing the time. The timer said that it was 10:07, work started at 8:00 precisely. 'Shit, shit.' I quickly got up and went to the dresser to change as fast as I could. A minute passed and I managed to get my pants and shirt on, though was still struggling to get the rest of my attire in place, running and dressing as I went. I sprinted down the stairs to the first floor and went to the kitchen to get some toast before I went. I zoomed by the dining table and briefly saw Astraia sitting on the far right end. "Tem." She said softly.

"Not now Astraia, I'm severely late and I gotta go now or else Sakomoto's going to kill me! Why the hell didn't you wake me up earlier?!" I put my briefcase on the kitchen island and put the toast in and opened the fridge for a carton of milk, accidentally spilling it on the floor. "Shit."

"Tem, I called Zeonic and told them that you would take another day off." I was on the floor with a paper towel in hand when I heard that, freezing like a deer in headlights, only to hear the toaster pop.

"You what?! Astraia I can't bail on my work the company needs me." I pleaded.

"Dammit Tem, it's been a week since you saw your wife get killed right in front of you and you think your in any condition to go to work?! You're in barely any state to even get out of the house right now, just look at yourself." Astraia yelled, I flinched at her tone as this was one of the few times I actually saw her get mad, the highest she usually ever goes is a small scolding tone with her children.

I looked to myself in shame only to see that she was right. My pants were on though I was missing my belt, my collared shirt was ragged and unbottened, my tie just flaying around lopsided. I'm pretty sure I forgot my coat in my room and my footwear were mismatching with only a sock on my left foot and my right foot wearing my shoe though barefooted, the rest probably on the floor somewhere.

I let out a large defeated sigh, "Tem, I talked directly to Sakomoto and he said it was alright if you wouldn't be able to come in today, he didn't even expect you to show up for a few weeks anyways. The funeral was just Friday after all."

"But" before I could further protest Astraia gave me a death glare that said she wouldn't take no for an answer. "Fine, have it your way."

"Come sit down, I already made breakfast for you. Don't bother with the mess by the way, I can clean it later." I walked over to the table to find a small plate of eggs, sausage, orange juice, and biscuits ready; though it looked to be cold. I sat down right next to Astraia and put my briefcase right next to the plate, though didn't bother to touch my food. "Tem, I didn't want to try and intervene as I wanted you to deal with your loss on your own and not have to feel pitiful or needy. However it's clear that your trying to stuff all your feelings down inside and try to avoid your responsibilities with work. You're the only family in the entire world that Amuro has right now, and your running away from him."

"You don't think I don't know that!" I fired back, banging my fists on the table. Astraia flinched slightly though she didn't waiver. "I watched my own wife get murdered in front of me from who knows; the Federation, anarchists, fucking corporate spies! How the hell can I possibly deal with that? Ever single time I try and think of my wife I can't recall any happy memories, all I can see is the ruins of our home and her charred remains! How...how c-can I?" I couldn't come up with any more words as my throat started to dry and I had tears running down my face. In a few seconds I let out all the emotions I kept in, the grief I had for Kamaria. Astraia moved to comfort me, wrapping her right arm around myself in a hug and holding my left hand with hers.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds were my weeping before I responded. "Goddammit, this always happens when something goes wrong. Almost every single time, I retreat into my work and try to ignore reality. The worst was right after Amuro was born. He was a bit difficult to handle as an infant and I didn't know how to raise him right. I kept going back to working for the Federation, asking for more shifts and leaving him to Kamaria. Then we started fighting constantly and would often shout at each other on a regular basis. It wasn't until a year before I defected that things normalized and I took my responsibility as a father seriously. When we moved to Zeon our marriage got drastically better and things were looking up. Without Jaburo's constant demands and a free hand at Zeonic, I could focus on my family and be the father and husband I was suppossed to be. It was the happiest Kamaria and I were since we first met.

Kamaria...Kamaria, she deserved far better. I don't know why she decided to be with me when I was the one who constantly screwed up. She was the best mother Amuro could ever hope for and always gave him the love and attention he needed. I'm a workaholic who would rather spend time with machines than my own family. Since that day, sometimes I wish that I was the one who was inside of the house and that Kamaria could be with Amuro instead of me. He'd be much hap-" I didn't finish my sentence as my cheek stinged and I felt a bright red mark start forming. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Astraia had raised her hand, apparently slapping me.

"Tem Ray, don't you dare finish that thought! What happened was an undeniable tragedy that we can't go back and fix, but it could've been far worse. Amuro may have lost his mother, but there's still one person who he does have, you. You may call yourself a bad father Tem, and while you're by no means perfect, you're not horrible. I've seen you and Amuro bond together in the last year, and your son absolutely adores you. He looks to you as a role model for his life and you've constantly supported him at every step of the way. Remember that when you defected to Zeon you did it all for Amuro. You could have kept a nice cushy job in Jaburo and live a comfortable life under the Federal regime, but you chose to gave that all away in order to save your little boy.

He loves you just as much as his mother and the fact that you're retreating from him is absolutely tearing him apart. I was lucky enough to call Kamaria my close friend, and I know that what she would want most is to see you stay by Amuro's side and give him the love he needs. You both need each other, now more than ever."

I slowly nodded in acceptance of the point Astraia was trying to make. I then lowered my head in shame and felt slightly revolted at myself for my actions in the past week. While it wasn't wrong to be sad for my wife, I let my grief overtake me and turn me away from my only son. How could I be so selfish and just ignore the same pain that Amuro was going through right now? While it wouldn't be right for me to instantly move on from this, it would be far worse to abandon my son. Kamaria would never forgive me if I did.

Upon my affirmation I came to a realization, _'Wait, wasn't Astraia also in my same position?'_ If some people were to be believed then Deikun was assassinated by the Federation. I remember reading from the news reports of how the Deikun family was suffering in the passing of their patriarch, and how Astraia herself could've lost everything had the Zabis not intervened. _'She's been through the same as me, only worse as she had to defend her children from ambitious politicians and the general public. Yet I don't think she ever waivered.'_ Even after almost a year and a half of Deikun being gone, Astraia still managed to stay strong and be there for her children.

"Astraia, how...how did you deal with Zeon's death?" I asked hesitantly. Astraia appeared surprised at the question, and then released a melancholic sigh, most likely relieving old and painful memories. "I'm sorry for asking." I added.

Astraia lightly waved it off, "No, it's alright. It wouldn't be right for me to lecture you and not be asked about my experiences. We both went through similar events, it's only right that I share." Astraia then sighed once again, though her eyes gained a certain warmth in them. "Zeon, he was the most wonderful man I ever met in my life. The media hypes him up to be some sort of messiah who was a prophet for creating the Newtype ideal. And while he may have accomplished some extraordinary deeds, the truth was he was no more ordinary than you or me. He was compassionate, sensitive, wise, charming, brash, very headstrong;but most of all he was a dreamer. He considered everyone in Side 3 to be a part of his family and wanted to provide for them the best lives that they could experience. It was amazing to stand by his side and watch him make his ideals a reality. Though I'll always miss him, I'll never regret meeting Zeon in that dingy nightclub. He gave me the best years of my life, and most importantly, my greatest treasures; Casval and Artesia."

Astraia's face then drew grim."It wasn't easy for us in the aftermath. We didn't even have time to grieve for Zeon since almost everyone we ever knew sought to manipulate his passing into their own favor. Most of our so-called friends, the people who Zeon trusted unconditionally and thought of them as family, didn't give their condolences or honor his memory. They only thought of their own greed and how they could still maintain their positions in Side 3. Countless politicians and aristocrats hounded me to give my favor and make the Deikun's benefactors of their cause. They sought to manipulate Casval and Artesia at every opportunity and make my children their puppets. Jimba Ral was the worst in that he tried to brainwash the children into thinking that Degwin and his family murdered Zeon and somehow use us to give him control of the state. Though no one ever stooped to his level and tried to incite a revolution, they all had the same mindset. They warped Zeon's ideals for their own personal gain and self-advancement. Most called me a Zabi pawn and said that I was nothing but Zeon's whore, they said that hag Roselucia should have been Casval and Artesia's mother, not me. It's ironic how they claim that the Zabis used us, when in the end it was Degwin and his children who were practically the only people who actually tried to help us and protect us in our time of need. It makes me glad that I'm able to repay the same kindness to you and Amuro." She said with a smile.

I was shocked at the information Astraia had presented me. Before I defected to Zeon I never once gave any great attention to the ongoing spacial politics in the Earth sphere. Back then the Deikuns to me were nothing but a bunch of hippies who got rich and famous off of what I had then believed to be a phony philosophy. I may have also been jealous at the time due to the fact that my work had been glossed over by my bosses within the Federal Forces. It makes me grateful that Amuro and I are unimportant enough to deal with Kamaria's passing without any outside nagging. _'Though if what some of those OSS men said are right, my job and actions may have been responsible for all this.'_

"As to answer your question though, I don't think I ever had one exact method of dealing with the pain. To this day I sometimes wake up and expect to see him sleeping next to me, only to realize that he's been dead for months. Overall I'd say that the one way I tried to move on was to focus on the here and now; taking care of the kids, finding new hobbies, helping Degwin by appearing at various public events, etc. If I'm happy for what I have in my life now, then I won't have to continually regret and be depressed at Zeon's passing. Don't be obsessed with what you lost Tem, you're never going to get it back. Instead just be happy and live a good life. I don't think Kamaria would have wanted it any other way."

I slowly understood what Astraia was saying. It wasn't that I was wrong to mourn my wife's death, but I couldn't let Kamaria's absence control how I acted for the rest of my life. I know that she would never act that way had it been the exact opposite. She would stay strong and be their for Amuro, our son.

"You're right Astraia, I can't continue to be irresponsible and neglect Amuro, not now, not ever. I'm still going to go into work today, but I'll just tie up some things and take a couple more weeks off. I'll stay here and make sure that Amuro finds some peace with himself. He was always his mother's child first, and if I'm not with him now then he'll be scared and isolated for the rest of his life."

Astraia gave a light smile, "I'm happy to help Tem. Just make sure though that you actually get dressed properly before you set foot outside of the house." She said with a light giggle, making me realize that I was still vastly undressed the entire time.

I slowly got up from the table, only to accidentally knock my briefcase down on the ground, sending several documents flight. "Dammit." I curse under my breath.

"I'll help you clean this up Tem." Astraia says, reaching down to help.

"Sure, just be careful with some of the papers. I've got some designs that if ruined will take hours to recreate." We spend the next minute carefully going through the sprawled stack. To be fair this was kind of my fault as I never really took good care of my work sometimes, always stuffing each paper into a single file. Suddenly a hear a slight giggle and look towards Astraia where I see her being amused by one of the papers.

"What's so funny about my work?"

Astraia casually waves it off, "Nothing Tem. It's just that while I know you're part-Japanese I never thought you would actually try to create some sort of Samurai mecha for Zeon."

"What are you talking about? I've been focusing mainly on the Zaku and that's more of a Spartan than a Samurai." I snatched the paper only to have my heart drop at the sight of it. It was a well-detailed and colored schematic of a mobile suit, though not one that I had ever done. It was a bit cartoonish in its appearance but it was far lighter than any Zaku. The main features that made it stand out were its red, white, and blue color scheme along with it's head that resembled a _kabuto_ from the Sengoku period. It was armed with two heat katannas on the back along with a rifle and shield in its arms.

I swallowed at the memory. "This isn't any of my designs. It's actually something that Amuro gave me. He wanted to surprise me with a creation of a mobile suit that I could show at work, something that would help with the large amount of ludicrous ideas that I keep getting sent my way. With my son's genius I have no doubt that this may have worked had I tried to create a prototype. He gave to me the morning I left for work when the...when the incident _happened_. I meant to frame it when I got back home and keep it in my office, but then you know the rest. I guess ever since that day I just forgot about it and left it in my briefcase."

Astraia gave me a sympathetic look along with a small pat on the shoulder. Even with most of our belongings lost in the house, it seems that there's still so many little things that can bring up memories of that day. "You know if it weren't for the rather unorthodox appearance, I would've sworn that it was something you made. Even after knowing him for several months I'm just shocked by how much talent Amuro has and what he can create when he puts his mind to it. Does it have a name?"

"Of course, it's a bit silly when you hear it out loud though. The _MS-00 Gundam_. Probably based off of some anime that he watched." When I looked back at the design though, I slowly began to realize that this wasn't a machine that could just feasibly work, but from the rest of the schematics that Amuro presented the data with, it could actually be superior than the Zaku. None of the technology was actually capable at this point, but in a few years..., _'How could he understand the fundamentals of mobile suits when I've rarely even shown him anything from work? Is it his Newtype abilities?'.  
_  
I grabbed some of the other papers that Amuro gave me from the briefcase, and looked over them again, checking into greater detail than I had before. Upon comprehending the work I saw that Amuro not only thought of potential solutions to current defects of mobile suits, but he gave new ideas that had never been thought of before. _'Magnetic coating, beam rifles, self-learning computers?'  
_  
This, this could actually work. "Gundam."  
 **  
Third Person POV  
**  
It was tough for Artesia in the past week to watch Amuro in his current state. After the Ray's had lost their home in an explosion, Artesia's mother Astraia had offered their house as a refuge in order to make sure that Amuro and his father would be safe and protected. At first Artesia was happy for such an event as she wanted to be there to comfort her best friend and felt that by living with Amuro, Artesia could best make sure that he recovered, much in the same way on how the Zabis offered their hospitality when Zeon Deikun passed.

However to her sadness, Amuro had seemed to completely reject her since the day his mother died. He rarely spoke for more than a minute with Artesia anymore and mostly locked himself away in his new room, crying to sleep over the loss of Kamaria. With each attempt to get closer to him rejected, Artesia felt defeated and didn't know what to do. She kept on telling herself that Amuro had a right to feel this way, that he would eventually turn around. Yet she knew that she couldn't just run away know, especially with what she felt on that day, how she could sense Amuro's pain and sorrow.

Today was hardly any better. On his first day back to school Amuro had kept to himself and hardly uttered a single word, silently refusing to participate in class. Fortunately the rest of Amuro's students knew what he was going through and didn't bother bother him once until the bell rang. Artesia herself had spoken to them and had said how if anyone gave Amuro a hard time she would make them pay for it. While not physically intimidating, no one would dare try to cross the daughter of Zeon Zum Deikun. Her classmates also knew that her brother Casval was fiercely protective of his younger sister and that if they made her miserable, then they would answer directly to Casval, who wasn't afraid to get physical in defense of his only sibling.

After an awkward limo ride home where hardly a word was said besides Casval and Artesia making some small talk on their day, the Deikun siblings and Amuro arrived at Deikun manor. They walked through the front to find Astraia waiting for them inside.

"Hey kids, how was school today?"

"Good." Answered Casval and Artesia, though Amuro barely answered with a slight grunt.

"Is Dad at work?" Asked Amuro quietly. This made Astraia frown in remembrance of her conversation with Tem earlier that day. Though with Tem promising to turn around she knew that he would be there for his son right when he got back. "Yes, he is right now. Although Amuro, your father today actually decided that he's going to take more time off and spend the next couple of weeks here with you. He just came in today so that he could settle some things and make sure that everything would be alright when he came back."

Said news actually came as a surprise to Amuro who looked up in slight shock at what Astraia had told him. Unfortunately his mood quickly turned back into a blank slate, and he wordlessly acknowledge it, going back upstairs. Astraia was about to go up after him when her cellphone rang. She looked at the caller ID,

"Casval, Artesia, your Uncle Degwin is calling right now. Be sure to keep Amuro company and I'll be right back to ask about your day." Astraia then shuffled towards the kitchen to gain some privacy, leaving the two Deikun siblings alone.

Artesia was about to go upstairs, though before she could was stopped by Casval. "What?" The younger Deikun asked.

"Are you ever going to confront Amuro, tell him about what you experienced when his mother died?" Asked Casval, rather blunt and to the point.

Artesia looked away in slight shame before facing her brother again, "What do you want me to say? 'Oh hi Amuro, did you know that I felt you when you watched your mother die in front of you?' I can't tell him that, not when he's already so sad. Besides Doctor Flanagan said it was best to wait until he's okay." Artesia knew that she had a responsibility to share what she knew with Amuro, and while she told herself she would eventually, she just didn't know how she could possibly do so now. She could barely even speak a few sentences with him on a normal topic.

Casval slightly nodded in understanding though he still pressed on, "Artesia while I understand your reasoning, you must face it sooner or later. Your Newtype powers are developing at an extraordinary rate, even faster than mine. You must learn to understand your gift now so that you can use its full potential later on in life. After all that's probably why the Federals murdered-"

"Cas! Please don't do this. I already told you how much I don't like it when you talk like this! Mom doesn't like it either." Pleaded Artesia. When their father had died Casval had gotten the idea that the Federation and Jorge Marcenas were responsible, that they had assassinated Zeon Deikun in order to tighten their grip on Side 3. Right after Kamaria's death, Artesia overheard Casval talking to himself on how the Federation was responsible for this act too. It wasn't as if he was the only one though as hundreds of millions of people within Zeon still to this day believe it as a fact that Zeon Deikun was murdered by the Federation, something that the Zabi family subliminally supported through their rhetoric and speeches. Artesia knew that there was some truth to the claims, though she simply couldn't face the reality of such an action happening. It was far easier for her to believe that her father died due to stress and exhaustion than murder. Yet deep down a small part of her kept on saying that maybe, just maybe, they were right all along.

Fortunately for her Casval relented and seemed to surrender for now with a sigh. He knew that said topic needed to be treaded carefully with Artesia or else he would push her away. "I'm sorry Artesia. While I would want nothing more than for you to not have to deal with any of this, the truth is that the Earth sphere is a harsh and forgiving place. If you aren't ready then one day you'll be forced to face reality and grow up, when that happens I may not be there to protect you." With those final words Casval proceeded ahead of Artesia and went towards his room, leaving Artesia to contemplate the meaning of what her older brother had wanted to say.

 _'Cas, what happened to you?'_ For the first half of her life Artesia remembered Casval being a rather happy child. He may have been more serious and reserved then other boys his age, but Artesia always saw through that and knew that deep down Casval was just like everyone else. While on the outside he remained the same, Artesia knew that her brother had been severely changed ever since their father's death. Whether it was for the better or worse, she didn't know yet.

Artesia then climbed up the stairs and proceeded to walk towards her bedroom. On the way she passed by Amuro's room, only to find his green Haro unit waiting patiently outside the door, in the same manner that a dog would act for their master. "Haro, what are you doing here?" Artesia asked.

After losing his home, Haro was the only thing that Amuro owned personally besides the clothes that he had on his back. Since moving into the Deikun Manor, Amuro had kept a rather tight grip on Haro, the robot never leaving his sight with the only exceptions that he wasn't around being the funeral and when Amuro returned back to school today.

Upon seeing the sight of its second creator, Haro hovered over to Artesia and began to roll around her in a circle. "Haro wait for Amuro. Haro turned on for Amuro and was happy. Then Amuro got mad and kicked Haro. Amuro said that he don't want Haro. Haro sad. Haro bad robot. Is Haro now for Artesia?" Haro said, still circling around Artesia. While Haro's "face" didn't move and remain expressionless, the tone in its speech seemed to indicate that it felt disappointed and not being able to help Amuro. Such revelations were shocking to Artesia. Ever since they had built Haro Amuro had treated Haro as a close companion and would never let any harm come to it. To hear that Amuro didn't want Haro anymore, Artesia knew that something was wrong.

Artesia reached down to pet Haro, "Know Haro, you're a good robot, you didn't do anything wrong. Amuro didn't mean it, he's just sad that's all. Why don't you go to my room and I'll play with you in a little bit?"

"Okay. Artesia good creator. Haro take homework." Haro then transformed from his ball form to his robot form and reached for Artesia's bag, which she then gave to him and watched the green A.I drag her backpack slowly across the floor to Artesia's room. It still amazed Artesia to this day how Amuro was able to create something so advanced with just herself for help.

Speaking of, Artesia looked back towards the door and sighed with a small amount of dread. She felt guilty for not doing her best to help Amuro in the past week, and she knew she needed to change that starting right now. With a small amount of anxiety, Artesia reached for the doorknob and slowly turned it, pushing the door open and entering herself into Amuro's room unannounced.

To Artesia's surprise she found the room to be completely dark, the windows covered up and no lights turned on at all. The guest room itself looked extremely clean with no sign of any occupation besides Amuro's bag thrown in the upper right corner. She tried to find Amuro for a few seconds, only to discover that he was on top of the bed, covering himself with the bedsheets and blankets with a dejected and lifeless look on her face.

 _'How could I not notice?'_ Artesia felt shame in herself for her conduct in the last week, how she had let Amuro slowly dig himself to this point. Artesia carefully made her way across the room, trying to reach to Amuro and get through his shell. "Amuro, it's me Artesia."

"What do you want, go away." Amuro said stoically. He simply stared at the wall and refused to turn around and acknowledge Artesia's presence. Such actions only prompted her to continue forward.

"I know that it's hard right now, that you miss your mom alot and you want to see her again. But you don't have to be alone Amuro. I know what it's like." Artesia said. While her words were meant to comfort Amuro, they appeared to have an opposite effect as Amuro's face came alive with anger at what she said. He turned around and jumped off his bed, turning to face Artesia with his nostrils flaring and breath quickening, tears forming in his eyes.

"How could you possibly know?! I lost mom right in front of me and now I can't ever see her again. I'm all alone and no one loves me. Dad's just going to go work and he'll never come back. How could you know!" Amuro said, his words unintentionally filled with anger and spite. This allowed Amuro to lash out all his frustrations at his dear friend, something he would never intentionally do.

Amuro's words caused a sharp pain in Artesia's chest. To the young girl she felt like she had been stabbed in the heart from her best friend. A small part of her knew that Amuro didn't mean it and that his grief was controlling his actions. However the exact wording that Amuro used tore open a damn of emotions that Artesia had been building for over a year ever since that fateful day that changed her life forever. _"How could you possibly know?!"  
_  
Artesia tightly clenched her fists and began breathing heavily. Tears were forming in her eyes and painful memories long ago were beginning to resurface. "Daddy." She whispered.

Amuro's head perked up at the word, but before he could question it, he begin to feel his vision blacking out and his surroundings starting to shift around him. This scared the young boy immensely, "What, what's going on!" Amuro tried to get a sense of his surroundings, only to find himself in a very familiar room, albeit one that was very much changed from what he remembered. _'Is this, is this Arty's room?'  
_  
Sure enough the room was similar to that of his friends. Amuro could see the large twin-sized bed along with a ceiling that consisted of glowing stars that Artesia liked to gaze upon at night. And while there were several of Artesia's possessions within the room, it still had a vastly different makeup with rearranged furniture and an overall smaller feel. _'What happened, why am I not in my room?'_ Amuro looked around and noticed two very weird additional aspects of his situation. One was that Artesia was sound asleep in her bed, when just a few seconds ago she was awake and standing in front of Amuro, and the other was that Amuro noticed a slightly younger version of Casval laying in a similar twin-bed next to Artesia, though Casval seemed to be slightly awake and was gazing upon the door.

"What the, Casval! This doesn't make any sense." It was then that Amuro remembered how Artesia had once told him that she and Casval shared a room together, though he had gotten his own room over a year ago. "Casval, Arty, what's going on!" Amuro shouted with desperation, extremely confused on what he was experiencing. However the two Deikun children seemed to either be unable to hear him, or simply ignored him. "What, what is this?" Amuro then started to hear two voices outside of the door, both of whom sounded like they were arguing with each other.

 _"And when they do so, I will address the world from atop my cross. I will warn them that those sinners who incur the wrath of Gaia will soon be engulfed in hellfire and be annihilated!"_ Said an angered and frustrated man, one who Amuro could swore to sound familiar.

 _"You're exhausted, you need to rest! Please."_ Said a voice that Amuro recognized instantly. _'Mrs. Deikun?'_ Amuro thought.

 _"Where are the children?"_ Asked the man.

 _"They're sleeping, it's the middle of the night. No, you can't. Don't disturbed the children._ Pleaded Astraia. Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the door flew open and in came the man. Upon seeing the figure, Amuro fell back in shock as he recognized a man who should have been long dead.

"It's Zeon Deikun!" Amuro shouted, though once again his voice was not heard. Amuro then moved to wake up Casval, "Cas, you're father's alive and he's right in front of you." However, when Amuro moved his arm to shake Casval, it passed right through the blonde boy, once again causing Amuro to fall back in shock. "What, what's happening. Is this like that Christmas Carol?" Amuro asked rhetorically in utter bewilderment and confusion. Amuro remembered watching an old black and white version of the tale last Christmas, and while what he was experiencing could be said to be similar to that of Scrooge, there were no spirits of Christmas guiding Amuro, and he didn't know what lesson he needed to learn.

Amuro's attention was then brought back to the present(ish) as he heard Lucifer screech and hiss at Zeon. Amuro looked to see the leader of Side 3 proceed to Artesia's bed and gently pick her up.

 _"Who is it? Daddy? Mmm...sleepy. Beard is scratchy. Goodnight daddy."_ Said a much tired Artesia, hugging her father. Zeon happily reciprocated.

 _"Goodnight Artesia. My sweet, sweet, baby girl. Goodnight, goodnight."_ Said Zeon, holding Artesia fiercely and crying bittersweet tears of joy while he was doing so.

Laying on the floor Amuro didn't know what to think of what he just saw. In a way it was slightly nostalgic for the young boy. It reminded him of several nights that he had with his own late mother, where Kamaria would come in and read Amuro a story or sing him a lullaby. Thinking of his own mother reminded him of all the times he was with Artesia and how little she mentioned her own late father. Whenever the topic of Zeon Deikun came up, Artesia would often recall a happy memory that she had with Zeon, and would then quickly change the topic to something else. A vivid recent memory that came to Amuro was a time in November when their teacher was giving a lecture on the early history of Side 3, and the rise of Zeon into power. Amuro noticed that during the entire lesson while the rest of the class was enraptured, Artesia looked sick to her stomach and spent most of that day looking to the window, trying to block the lesson. _'Is it because she wants to forget, or she just can't remember?'  
_  
Right after that thought the scene then shifted again and Amuro now found himself in a dimly-lit room. However instead of it just being Casval and Artesia, the room was occupied by dozens of people, all standing across each other in two rows. The people who Amuro first noticed were the presence of the Zabis, Degwin and all of his children (except for Garma) lined up together near the end of the right row. Each one of the Zabis stood at attention, showing almost no emotion, though Amuro saw Gihren slightly fidgeting in his spot. Amuro looked towards the end of the row and saw the reason they were all standing at attention, at the center of the room upon a small pedastal sat Zeon Deikun. Though were only seconds before the man was filled with life and emotion, here he laid sitting still with his arms crossed and a blanket covering half of his body, to Amuro Deikun seemed at peace. It took a few seconds for the gears in Amuro's mind to turn and cause Amuro to realize what this was. "This is Zeon's death." Amuro said quietly, though once again no one appeared to notice him.

Amuro was able to recall the scene from pictures that he had seen in school when he was back on Earth. Zeon's death had been a large topic for several weeks and many within Amuro's class also spoke of it. Most were uninterested, though a few of Amuro's classmates said Zeon deserved it for being "A crazy space junkie." At the time Amuro didn't care anything about Zeon so he just ignored them like he usually did, he had no way of knowing that he would immigrate to Zeon in the future or that he would become friends with Zeon Deikun's daughter.

Speaking of, a faint creaking noise came from behind Amuro and he turned around to see Artesia and her mother and brother again. Astraia was in the middle holding onto her children on both sides, Casval was on her right with a serious, though downtrodden stare, while Artesia was on Astraia's left, gripping on tightly and appearing confused at what was going on. The Deikuns took a few steps forward towards Zeon. Artesia then stumbled forward and out of her mother's grip, moving towards Zeon for a few seconds. Artesia then stopped, _"Daddy?"_ She asked, wanting desperately for Zeon to wake up. After a few seconds of silence, a horrible realization set in on Artesia. _"NOOOOO!"_ Artesia then fell to the ground sobbing, while Casval rushed to support his younger sister.

"Arty!" Amuro then reached out to help his friend, though when he extended his arm, the scene shifted and Amuro suddenly found himself back to his guest room in the Deikun house, Artesia standing in front of him with tears in her eyes. It was as if not a single second had passed. _'Was it all a dream? No it couldn't be, I was awake, but then what was it?'_

"I...I l-lost my daddy too." Artesia said softly. Artesia's voice faltered with every word and a small stream of tears started to flow down her eyes. It was only now thanks to the vision along with Artesia's poor appearance that Amuro realized what damage he had caused with his outburst.

"Artesia, I-" Amuro was about to apologize, before he was cut off by Artesia, this time speaking with a clear conviction in her voice.

"Amuro, don't you dare say that nobody loves you! You have tons of people who care about you. You still have your dad, and you know that he loves you! Mom thinks you're like her second son, Casval likes you, Garma and the Zabis like you. I-I care are about you." Artesia said, then kneeling down towards Amuro's level. "You don't have to be happy right now. Mom said it's okay for people to feel sad so that they can start to feel better. But you shouldn't be completely sad and push people away. Things can get better. At least...at least you can still remember your mom. Just, just think of the good times." Artesia said, her tears increasing more as the situation forced her to remember more and more of her similar circumstances, or at least how it was increasingly difficult for her to recall anything at all.

Fortunately from his recent Newtype experiences, Amuro was able to comprehend what Artesia is going through and decides to reciprocate in kind. Much to the surprise of the young blond, Amuro moves forward and wraps his arm around Artesia in a tight hug. Artesia returns in full and for a few seconds there is silence with the only sound being the tears of both Newtypes.

"I'm sorry Aresia. I didn't mean it! I...I just miss mom. I don't know what to do anymore and what's going to happen. Mom was always there, and now she's gone, I didn't even get to say bye. What if Dad dies today or tomorrow? Who will I have?"

"We can be your family Amuro. I'll be here for you, I promise!" Said Artesia. Once again Amuro was surprised by the words and actions of his best friend. While he considered Artesia close and the young girl was the first true friend he ever had, he didn't think that she would care that much. It wasn't too long ago on Earth that he didn't think it was possible for anyone outside of his family to act like this.

 _'Why, why do you care?'_ Thought Amuro.

As if she read his mind (something very much possible with her Newtype abilities), Artesia immediately responded to that exact same question. "You're my best friend in the whole world Amuro. You're the first person who actually cared about me, and not just because of my dad. I would never leave you! Friends stay together forever and that's what I'll do. I promise."

For the first time since the death of his mother, a smile formed on Amuro's face. He may have lost his mother and will never be with her for the rest of his life, but that didn't mean that it was the end of the world for Amuro. For the first time in his short life, Amuro knew that he would never be alone. He had Artesia, and he would do his best to be there for her as well.

"Thank you."

 **Casval Deikun POV**

Seeing that Artesia had the situation under control and had managed to get through Amuro's depression, I slowly and silently close the door and made my way through the hall. It wasn't like I had wanted to spy on my sister helping her grieving friend, it was just that Artesia had left the door open and I was walking by when she was in the middle of her little heart to heart with Amuro.

 _'Ah Artesia; sweet, sweet Artesia. Never change my dear sister.'_ While we may have had our many differences and we fought at occasion, the one thing that I could always admire my little sister was her kind and caring heart. Ever since she was a baby Artesia was always a positive child and brought a smile to those around her. Even after dad's murder and Jimba Ral trying to brainwash us to turn against the Zabis, Artesia remained pure and innocent, a bright spot in the family during our darkest moments. _'That's why you must never follow my path Arty. For I will not allow you to go through the same hardships in my duty to avenge father and bring down the Federation once and for all.'_

While I was glad that Artesia was able to open up Amuro, what was most disturbing was how she was able to do it and the nature of her relationship with that boy. Before the death of Kamaria Ray I never really gave too much thought to Amuro Ray. Sure he was a good kid and Artesia's first friend, it's just that I had always assumed their relationship was nothing more than what was normal for kids their age. Yet witnessing Artesia share Amuro's pain in his mother's final moments, it was something that was quite the revelation to me. Just what was so special about this Terran boy that he was able to create a psychic link with my younger sister? Sure they were both high-level Newtypes yet Doctor Flangan himself said that this was something he had only observed within a handful of Newtypes, their psychic link even more powerful than a majority of those few. Mom liked to joke about Amuro one day becoming her son in-law, but were they that close already after only a year of friendship? Whatever the case Amuro was now a part of Artesia's life, and through that Artesia was able to feel the pain and tragedy of Mrs. Ray in her death, her murder by the Federal scumbags who assassinated father just for wanting freedom for the Spacenoids.

 _'Maybe I share Amuro my knowledge of the Federation's part in father's death, tell him that they were responsible for his mother's as well.'_ Just as quickly as that thought entered my mind I shook it off. Dad's death may have been plotted by those bastards at Jaburo, but his was a relatively painless one and Artesia and I were spared having to see his final moments. Amuro watched his mother's life end before his very eyes and felt it through the Psychic terror. I was never given time to grieve thanks to Jimba Ral, while Amuro is still struggling to cope. No, I can't rope him into my crusade against the Federation. Maybe when he's older and more mature I can drive him to join the Space Force in order to end the Federation, but for now he needs to let his demons rest and come to terms with the passing of Mrs. Ray. Artesia can stand at his side until then, guide him towards the future and prepare him for the day I reveal the truth.

Coming to my room I open the door slowly and go towards my desk where a collection of darts where lying around. I pick them up one by one, and throw them towards my closet where lies pictures of Jorge Marcenas and the rest of the Federal Council, the individuals responsible for father's murder.

"Rest easy you Marcenas scum. Enjoy the fruits of your petty victories while they last. For one day Zeon shall rise and end the Universal Century, tear down the failing system that you work so hard to uphold. I will find you, and I will kill you. Sieg Zeon." I throw the dart with a great amount of power, landing a bullseye on Jorge's face.  
 **  
A/N: For those of you curious about the appearance of the Gundam and Amuro's creation of it, here's my explanation. In canon I believe that Amuro designed what would be the Gundam (but NOT the exact RX-78-2 Gundam) due to his love of robotics and him wanting to make the perfect mobile suit to impress his dad. This didn't go anywhere beyond the initial designs and Amuro abandoned it to move on to other projects. Tem saw it though and got some inspiration for how to make the perfect mobile weapon, him creating this into reality when Project V started. That's why the Gundam has such a childish and samurai-like look instead of the sleek and monotone appearance of the Zaku. Just to be clear though, while Amuro's design here has several parts that resemble the cannon Gundam, it's not exactly the same and is not feasible for Zeon to create at the current moment. Rest assured for all those who worry of a wank, the Gundam will not be appearing for several years in story and it won't happen at the start of the war. We will have Gundams introduced though and when they do I promise to make them really cool with original designs based off a mix of UC, AC, AW,and CE tech.**

 **Also for those who are wondering what the heck happened in the middle of the chapter, well it's Newtype stuff. Basically Amuro's connection to Artesia kicked in, and because Artesia had strong emotions around her dad, she subconsciously shared her memories with Amuro, who due to being a Newtype, was able to see fully and be a part of those memories. While there was some stuff in there that Artesia could not have possibly seen or remembered, Amuro observed it all due to his powerful Newtype powers allowing him to get a full sense on what was going on, though in an extremely limited manner. There will be future chapters in the Flanagan Institute addressing this along with showing Amuro and Artesia's growth as Newtypes.**

 **Also I'd like to let you guys know that I am doing a minor retcon in the story. Previously in Chapter 10 I said that Scirocco along with Jamaican and Bask were assassinated by Gihren. I changed it to just Bask and Jamaican. The reason for doing so is that I look back at the text, and I don't really see how Kaiser Gihren would've killed Scirocco since he was only a child and most likely on Jupiter, far out of the Zabis reach. Jamaican and Bask were working for Jamitov so they are actual targets, but Scirocco would not make a valid target and would raise a lot of questions from Kycillia on why Gihren wanted to kill a kid. Don't worry however as nothing of the overarching plot for the story has changed as the events that I want to happen will do so with or without Scirocco, Scirocco will mostly add some flavor to the plot along with the OC Terrans and Jovians that I already wanted to add.**

 **Thanks for reading and stay tuned for next week as we have some special appearances of characters from the Zeta series. From here on until the end of 0070, future chapters will be focused on worlbuilding in the Earth sphere outside of Zeon alongside Zeon domestic politics. Sieg Zeon!**


	31. Signs of Zeta

**April 4th, 0070. London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Hilda Bidan POV  
**  
I already knew beforehand that Franklin wasn't that much of a good man. The rose-colored glasses that I had used to admired him and gone well after the honeymoon, when we settled down and he began to show his true personality. How we was a faithless workaholic that took more pride and happiness in his achievements than our marriage. Not to mention his mistress that I had not known about until after _Kamille was born_. Mother had always said that it was a mistake to marry so quickly, that Franklin was not worth it and that there were far better man than him. I didn't listen at the time or afterwords, I thought that things would work out, that they could work if I tried. Yet everything seemed in vain, even the birth of our very own child didn't seem to change his ways beyond mild interest. If I hadn't gotten pregnant with Kamille, then I might've left by now. I should've done so, especially if I knew what would happen today.

 _"Hi Mrs. Bidan, this is Doctor Jennings from the Augusta Newtype Labs. I just wanted to check upon the condition of your son Kamille and see if he's healthy enough for travel to stateside within the next week. Let me just say we really appreciate what you and your husband have done by offering your child into our care. If what I've read from Kamille is true then he'll make for an extremely valuable addition to our work. Hello? Mrs. Bidan?"_ Earlier this morning I had received a phone call from some place named Augusta Labs, upon interrogating them and demanding just what the hell was going on, they revealed that Franklin had apparently spoken for both of us and said that we were going to give Kamille to them to study. Kamille, our only child who isn't even a year old yet. I knew that something was wrong with how he acted towards Kamille. Ever since he was born Kamille had barely recieved any love or attention from his father. At first I just assumed that it was merely Franklin being unable to cope with parenthood, yet now I knew the truth, Franklin was disgusted and fearful of our son being a Newtype.

It's not like I wasn't worried about him being one of those people that until a year ago were thought to be little more than a myth spouted by Deikun's deranged sermons. However just because Kamille was different it didn't mean he should be treated like a monster. He was just a sweet little baby, not some psychic monster that would go on a rampage. I was more than willing to help him deal with whatever abilities that he could come up with, just because he had high potential it didn't mean we had to ship him away to another country! _'Damn you Franklin, how I wish I left you at the altar!'  
_  
After ending that call I started packing whatever I could into my suitcase and taking whatever I needed to support Kamille. If Franklin was willing to do such a thing behind my back, then there was no reason to live under the same roof as him anymore. He wasn't fit to be Kamille's father and I couldn't last another day as his wife if this were how he treats me. While I had been ready for an hour, I still stayed inside the house and waited for Franklin to come home. If I was going to leave then I would at least have the satisfaction of knowing what led him to hand over our son so easily and confronting him on the issue.

At 5:37 I could hear the sound of his car parking in the driveway, surprisingly he was actually home on time for once instead of drifting off to wherever he decided to spend most of his nights at. For the past several months he wasn't even at our home and spent his time on his new position at Jaburo. The only reason he was here now was because this was supposed to be the week we'd get ready to move so that I could begin working at Jaburo. _'However if Augusta really is being subsidized by Jaburo, then there's no way I can ever work another Federal position again.'_

After a minute Franklin came in through the back door with his briefcase in hand and jacket thrown on his back. I stood in the kitchen waiting to confront him. "I'm home. Did you start packing so we could leave to Jaburo next week. Now that your maternity leave is over you can come and start helping me move things forward. I swear the people I work with are just so incompe...what?" Franklin says, having probably only just realized right now that I was looking at him with the highest amount of hate in my life.

"I just got a call today, from a place called the Augusta Institute. Some type of Newtype research facility in America." I said with as much venom as a cobra.

Franklin had a small look of shock on his face which instantly transformed in what appeared to be regret, "Ohhhh, I've been meaning to tell you..."

"TELL ME WHAT! THAT YOU WERE GOING TO TAKE OUR BABY BOY AWAY AND GIVE HIM UP SO SOME GLORIFIED QUACKS COULD EXPERIMENT UPON HIM?!"

"Now now, don't be hasty. This is something necessary, it's for his own good."

"His own good?! What exactly about Kamille is so terrifying that you need to send him away like some product that you wish to return? He's just an infant for God's sake! HE'S YOUR SON!"

Franklin looked to be getting agitated. That apparently my position and feelings were somehow unreasonable and that he was the one who was right in all of this. "Did you not hear what the doctor said, he's a Newtype, A NEWTYPE! Somehow our genes made one of those freaks from space, the ones the Zabis are preaching to be Ubermentsch and will take over humanity one day. They said his readings were off the charts, that he was some S-rank Newtype. You know what that means? As soon as that child enters puberty he's going to start gaining mind control powers and reading everyone's thoughts. Do you think that we can control that, that we can allow such a thing to happen? We're not equipped for such a child and it's only best to place Kamille in the care of experts who will cure his condition."

"And what the hell were you going to do when it came time to send him away? Where you just going to mail Kamille across the ocean and not say a word until he left the country. Did you really think that I would be okay with this? My boy, the child we created together!" At this point I actually had tears running down my eyes as I gripped the island counter with my nails digging into the wood. I had a feeling that Franklin would act horribly, but to have him treat our own son as an object and not give a single damn about his well being?

"Oh come on it's not like we aren't going to never see him again. We can visit and he'll return once he's treated." Franklin then turned his back on me and was hanging his coat on the rack with a casual manner, acting as if this argument wasn't some big deal to him. It was a rather good thing that he did or else he would've seen what I was about to do. "Honestly you women just let your feelings get the best o-" Franklin didn't get to finish his sentence as I grabbed a frying pan and wacked him on the head with as much force as I could muster. He fell forward and hit his face directly on the rack, sliding down and collapsing on the ground. I stood above him triumphant with the pan in my right hand. Upon gazing at his body for several seconds, I dropped the pan in shock at what I had just performed. 'What have I done?'

I knelt down beside Franklin and put my fingers on his neck. Fortunately I found a pulse. So I wasn't going to go to jail for murder, but I just did commit assault. _'Was it really wrong? Didn't I do the right thing?'_ It's not like I acted out of no volition and reason, I knocked him out in order to protect Kamille.

"Waaaaahhhhh!" Speaking of, it seemed that Kamille had just woke up from his nap, most likely due to the noise of the fight. _'Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if half the neighborhood heard.'_  
I walked towards his room, leaving Franklin out cold in the kitchen. Coming into the nursery I proceeded towards the crib and picked up my blue bundle of joy, Kamille wailing as loud as he could and tossing and turning from being interrupted from his sleep.

I gently picked him up and started rocking him, "It's okay Kamille, it's okay, your mommy's here. Mommy's sorry she woke you up, she just had to take care of the bad man. Your safe now Kamille, and nobody's ever going to take you away. Not now, not ever."

After a minute Kamille's wails started to turn down and his eyes became tired once more, soon he was fast asleep, peacefully dreaming and unaware that his two parents had practically separated a moment ago. With Kamille quiet I put him back into his crib and began moving to my room, beginning to take all of my belongings and pack them into the car so I could leave and get as far away from this place as possible.

As I was filling the car I began to think of something that I had stupidly neglected in my earlier plans today, where I would run off to. I had to leave the country or else Franklin could chase after me and catch me in a couple of days. I could move to mainland Europe, or another continent altogether, but Federal authorities would just track me down without much effort, not to mention Kamille would be sought after and just taken to some Newtype facility by force, if he wasn't persecuted when people started finding out his abilities. I had learned well in the first weeks after his birth not to bring up Kamille's Newtype status to others.

After some thinking I came upon to a conclusion. There was only one place in the entire Earth sphere where I could escape and get as far away from Franklin as possible. Where the Federation didn't have an easy reach and Kamille could develop his potential in a friendly environment that could accept him for who he is.

Zeon.  
 **  
April 6th, 0070. London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Walter Simmons POV  
**  
If there was one thing I absolutely despised more than anything about Humanity, it was the existence of incompetent individuals. It was true that not every man and woman is perfect, I have my own faults which I am tragically cursed with. However imperfection is no excuse for a person not to perform to the best of their abilities. To drown oneself in mediocrity was a disgusting practice that only the most pathetic humans would dare succumb to. Sadly, today my attention had to be focused on such an incompetent individual, one who tragically was one of the only hopes the Federation ever had to build an MS program that was some on par with whatever the hell Zeon was creating. Franklin Bidan.

 _'Damn you Gihren. If you weren't so obsessed over mobile suits to the point where it caused Jamitov to fear that they may be a threat, then we could direct our efforts and resources to more fruitful ventures instead of this fantasy.'  
_  
Honestly if I could then I wouldn't be here at this moment. This task was something underneath my position and better left to grunts lower in the food chain. However, having been stuck in Paris for the busting of a major intersphere sex trafficking ring for the past several weeks, I just so happened to be "conveniently" close by and in Jamitov's eyes fit to take care of this problem. To be fair discretion was necessary in this case. Even though Bidan was barely a pawn in the greater game, he still knew far too much that could cause Zeon, and more importantly the Hardliners in Jaburo to take action. We were lucky that Hilda Bidan had been pregnant and too busy taking care of her child to be involved in Gjallarhorn. If she knew even a shred of information and still got away...well then I would have to see to _other affairs_ at this moment.

Finally after what felt like an eternity driving through the metropolis of what had once been the most powerful city on Earth, we had arrived at a Metropolitan Precinct on the Northwest Side of London where Bidan was being held for questioning. Stepping out of the limousine that carried me from the airport, I walked inside of the building, my two bodygaurds (secretly Federal Intelligence agents on loan from Jamitov) stepped by my side and escorted me inside.

The scene within was one that was rather frequent in police departments across the globe, every busy and full of anxiety and misery. Officers rushed to perform their duties, vagrant criminals sat in handcuffs waiting to receive their due punishment, civilians with legal complains eager to pester the first law enforcement officer they found. Ignoring the hive of human activity, I walked directly to the receptionist desk and talked to the officer on duty, a rather portly middle-aged ginger who fit the image of a lazy cop with a donut in one hand and scrolling through the computer, most likely slacking off instead of performing his duty. An irritation triggered in my brain, though I let it slide. _'Let the locals deal with him.'_

I got to the desk and waited for him to attend to me. After a few seconds of no response, I slightly coughed, shifting the fat cop's eyes to mine. "What is it you want mate?" He asked.

"I'm here to see a Franklin Bidan. He should be held in questioning at the moment."

"You got an appointment you bugger? We can't just let anyone waltz in-" The man stopped and his eyes went wide as I pulled out my Interpol badge. It didn't state my position of Secretary-General, though there was no need since I wished to be rather anonymous during my visit. I didn't need to let him know of my title however as Interpol took precedence within all law enforcement matters on Earth. If any local police wished to refuse cooperation, then they would suffer rather harsh consequences.

"Apologies, didn't get a memo that Interpol was coming through. Let's see...he's held in questioning room four on the third floor, just take the lift and down the hall, can't miss it." He said, typing away at his computer in a frenzy in order to look efficient. I didn't acknowledge his efforts besides a curt nod, walking towards my destination upon hearing its location. On the way I took out my zPhone ( _'fucking Cyberware'_ ) and texted my contact inside the precinct to make sure that me and Bidan would be...alone during our little chat.

After a minute I arrived at the room, a tall Indian woman stood at attention outside, saluting me as I proceeded to her. "He's ready for you Inspector General. I did as the Lieutenant asked and no bloke will be bothering you during your stay." What she said indicated that she was part of the small number of officers who were aware of what was taking place.

"Good, i'd best advise miss that you walk away and forget of this moment." She nodded and walked away to whoever cared within this station. I opened the door and stepped inside to find Bidan sitting in one of the chairs. His face lit up at my presence, though his image was worse for wear due to a nasty bump on his forehead along with what appeared to be a missing tooth. Upon closer inspection I found what appeared to be rope burns on his wrists. It matched the report of the officers who found him tied inside his tub with tape on his mouth. _'What a pathetic creature.'_

"Walter! Thank goodness you're here, here's what I want to happen. First of all you get that bitch of mine back on Earth and my son back in my custody. Next I want to see her behind bars for attempted murder and..."

I snarled loudly at his daring attempt of first-name formality and how he dared to make demands when it was his actions that put him here. My mood quickly shut him up. "First of all Bidan, don't you DARE to use my first name. We are not friends, pals, chums; at best I am a reluctant acquaintance with whom I wish to spend as little time as possible. Second of all, you will be making no requests or demands from me. The purpose of my visit is merely to tell you what will happen and what you _will_ do. Your actions have made Lord Jamitov very displeased, and I can assure you that he is not a merciful man when in a foul mood."

Bidan's cocky and proud mood quickly switched in a 180 to that of a scared little puppy. The man was actually shivering in his seat and was beginning to sweat. _'At least have some dignity you piece of filth.'_ "W-what..w-w-what do you mean? How is this any of my fault? My wife assaulted me and kidnapped me child to take with her to who knows where! I'm the victim!" Bidan shouted, attempting to make himself look the tragic figure.

"Bidan, she took your son because you it seems that you had planned to donate your child to Augusta without her consent. Is it any wonder that a new mother, _only five months after the birth of her first child_ , wouldn't want to part with her precious baby boy?"

"But Jamitov said he wanted to integrate Newtypes into the project, to make Newtype suits just like what Zeon is planning! You're already taking in Newtypes all around the Earth sphere for testing and research. My son would've been the perfect candidate, the doctors said he had high potential according to that test that Flannagan came up with. It would have been good for you to take him in, to help the Federation! I could never allow that creature to live in the same home as myself. I can't believe the thought that my genes created such a construct." _'And he wonders why his wife, or should I say ex-wife, acted like this.'_

Upon hearing his reasoning I actually facepalmed out loud, I could swear my veins on my head were popping at this man's sheer stupidity. "First of all, while Lord Jamitov is actively searching for Newtypes to enhance our knowledge and control of these people, the sole test subjects now are only made from willing volunteers, children whose parents BOTH accepted that their child needed to be studied and supervised in a secure environment, and lowlife vagrants off the streets who would not be missed. We do not at this time need for subjects to be taken away forcibly from their kin, _especially a goddamned baby who would contribute little if anything worthwhile for years!_ Did you even speak with your wife beforehand, give her a hint that you were planning to drop your kid across an ocean in America. Something that was completely unnecessary might I add, since we were already planning to create a Newtype facility in Jaburo! Tell me Bidan, what do you think would happen if you managed to successfully send your kid to Georgia without your wife's permission."

The man just shrugged in response, "He'll be treated for his condition and contribute to whatever programs you're planning." I facepalmed for a second time at this man's idiocy.

"No, let me tell you what would happen. We would have a distressed mother whose infant child was taken away to a strange lab without her consent. If she didn't already try to kill you for your selfish stupidity, she would take this matter to the police, the courts, and even worse, the would make for the perfect headline, "Mother of five-month old infant has her son snatched and taken to America by the will of her adulterer of a husband." Bidan actually looked surprise that I knew about his wench in Jaburo, alongside his already current mistress in London. _'Oh that's not the least we know of you.'_ "It hits the front pages of the papers, becomes focused on CNN and BBC. Then the public would start to ask questions. Like where is this boy being taken, and what exactly is being done to Newtypes? Aren't they supposed to be taken for their own good? Then the media starts doing digging, then the Federal Forces get involved due to your job, and once they know of our connection then Lord Jamitov is demanded by the Prime Minister of why he is working with such a foul man. Then after some digging, they go into Augusta along with the other Newtype labs we've established. And once they get inside they become aware of the projects and programs _we don't want the public to know_. Projects that are important to Federal security in protecting us from the Zeon threat, but the public wouldn't see the necessity of until the Zeon come crawling into their yard. Then the whole project shuts down, Federal Intelligence cleaned, and Zeon given one of the greatest triumphs they can possibly imagine. All because you simply had to rush your boy to Augusta without once thinking of the consequences.

And take a guess where exactly your wife is at this current point in time, Zeon. Thanks to you Gihren Zabi has gotten his hands on another precious mobile suit expert to help in his grand schemes of conquest from the Earth sphere. That's not even considering how your boy is going to help Flanagan in the future. The only, and I mean the only good thing about this whole fiasco is that your wife's pregnancy prevented her from beginning her position in Jaburo or learning even a shred about Gjallarhorn. Because if she took even a sliver of data, then you would be a dead man."

"But you are going to get my son back right? I'll also see to it that Hilda is sued in court for-" Bidan never finished his sentence as I got out of my seat and punched him square in his left jaw, sending the man flying out of his chair and into the wall. Normally I would never get so physical, but the man was such a damned parasite that he was asking for it. It was a rather good thing that my position along with the small bribes I had undertaken would make sure no consequence would come of this. "You hit me! How dare you!"

"If you would wish to escape here with your life then I would advise that you cease your blathering and be quiet for the duration of our time." I said coldly, Bidan meekly replied. Whatever bluster he had left apparently vanished upon being assaulted. "Listen carefully Franklin Bidan. You are not the first choice that we had when it came to mobile suit development. In fact I'd say that you were towards the very bottom of the list. The only reason we even bothered to hire you was because Gihren Zabi took all of the best engineers. We once had a man with far superior talents than you in the employ of Jaburo, in fact he was in somewhat of a similar situation. However instead of volunteering his child to our cause, he defected to Zeon based off of the _belief_ that his kid would be taken away. You are not some treasured asset that we value above all else. You are merely a hand-me-down that Lord Jamitov had to make do with. So far your contributions have been above mediocre to say the best, and we could easily remove you. Oh sure it would slow down Gjallarhorn and take up time and resources, but it can be done if necessary. Something I am heavily advocating for Lord Jamitov to do right about now."

Bu-" Bidan was about to speak but before he did I unholstered my pistol and pointed it directly at his head, walking slowly and crouching to where it rested in front of his face. Whatever he wished to say stopped in a nanosecond.

"Remember what I said, about keeping your life in exchange for silence. One single syllable and I'll pull the trigger. I'll just say that you assaulted me and it was self-defense. No one will care, no one will be able to stop me. Now as I was saying before being rudely interrupted, you can and will be replaced at this very moment, though Lord Jamitov has forgiveness within him and is willing to give you a second chance, that is if you do every single thing that we say. First of all, divorce your wife and ensure your son is in her custody. Ship whatever she has to her in whatever home she moves into in the colonies, and forget your marriage ever existed. As a single man you can spend as much time as you want with your precious whores. After today you shall move to Jaburo and dedicate all of your time to Gjallarhorn, in order to make up for your failure, the Guntank-II will see a prototype produced by June and you will begin work on a humanoid model as soon as possible." Franklin opened his mouth, but then promptly shut it upon remembering the gun in his face. "From here on out your autonomy shall be cut and you will answer completely to Anahiem and Lord Jamitov; we want you to jump and you say how high. Produce admirable results in a quick fashion, and all will be forgiven and you may continue to reap the rewards of this relationship. But one more screwup, and I mean _one screwup_ , and you will wish I ended your life in this room. Are we clear?"

Bidan nodded his head rapidly in order to signify he understood. "Good, then our business is done. Oh by the way, if they wish to ask of your recent bruise, say you slipped and hit the pavement. We wish to see you in Jaburo within five days, a pleasure as always Bidan." I put my pistol back in my holster and quickly bolted for the door, my two men following. With a brisk pace I made for the exit of the building, wanting to get back to my other duties and spend as much time away from that filth as possible. I entered back into my limousine and sat in the back as it drove off to the heliport. Upon getting into the vehicle I took out my cell to alert Jamitov.

After a few rings he picked up, "Report Simmons." Said Jamitov in a rather neutral tone.

"Bidan has been dealt with and is fully aware of the consenquences of his actions. If he tries to blab then my men inside the station can take care of him. I would rather we terminate his employment, though I can understand of the constraints of our situation." Jamitov gave a weary sigh in response.

"Believe me I am fully aware. I've already got a list of potential figures on hand, though all barely eclipse Bidan in terms of his skills. It seems we'll have to wait for a new batch of geniuses to enter university or Anahiem's educational projects to bear fruit. Speaking of, the Tem Ray situation has been dealt with."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. What had happened over a month ago was pure sloppiness at its finest and nothing short of an embarrassment for Federal Intelligence. While Tem Ray was sure to be a threat at the moment, he was only a cog in the greater machine and there would've been far more fruitful gains from obtaining his work or infiltrating further into Zeonic and Zimmad. Even if he absolutely needed to be eliminated, there were far more discreet methods than a fucking house bomb. Deikun's death wouldn't have been as successfully covered if we decided to hire a sniper or blow up his mansion. Hundreds of millions blamed the Federation for his demise, but that was all based off of inherent prejudice and without a single shred of proof. One of our proudest operations if I do say so. No though because of one careless bomb, we had to quietly dispose of a few assets and our reach within Side 3 is even weaker than before.

"Was it Melanie or Martha?" I asked.

"No, thankfully neither of the Carbines were responsible, though it wouldn't be unbelievable if they really did act so. No, the culprit responsible was an executive in charge of Anahiem's current mobile suit department named Patrick Connolly. Due to Zeonic's success of the Waff and the rise of Zimmad, Connolly's position within the company was in danger thanks to the slow results of our current project along with the almost nonexistent sales for mobile suits towards Anaheim. Hoping that the death of Ray would lead to Zeonic tanking, he contacted our head administrator in Von Braun and convinced him that the assassination was a plan concocted by the Carbines and myself, something that should've been alerted to me. The admin then got in contact with what we had in Zum City, and the rest is history. I have made sure that Connolly was involved in a fatal accident and the waste within our branch taken care of. I trust that Zeon was never able to form a trail outside of Zum City."

"They tried but the most they could get was a faint connection to some of our contacts in Granada. Interpol stepped in and we made sure to produce as much redtape as possible to stall them. I'm sure they are more than aware that Anahiem was the cause, though they have almost no proof and it's all based off of speculation." I responded.

"Good. Head back to Paris and finish taking care of that sex ring, I'll take a more personal approach with Bidan and the rest of the Gjallarhorn project in the future. If you have the time however, I'd like for you to look into some potential rebellious activity in the U.A.E. Tell me, how much are you aware of the Garvey family?"

 **April 9th, 0070. Zum City, Principality of Zeon. Hilda Bidan POV  
**  
Chosing Zeon was mostly a choice of desperation and cold logic than any general desire to quickly immigrate to Side 3. While I didn't pay any attention to the greater politics of the Earth sphere when it came up on the news, it wasn't hard to know what was going on, the only way you could be truly ignorant was by living under a rock. In the previous years Side 3 was always treated as the awkward child of the colonies. From it's sole usage of closed-type colonies to its isolation on the dark side of the moon, Zeon was practically alien to most of the Earth sphere. To many back on Earth, Zeon Zum Deikun was nothing more than a madman who was a Radical ecoist that had somehow brainwashed the people of Side 3 into a cult that revered him like a messiah. Back during the Deikun days however things were mostly calm. Deikun may have sounded like a lunatic, but he was ruling on the other Side of the Earth sphere and his actions were relatively harmless and effected few.

Then came the rise of the Zabi family.

It was a rather slow process in how the people of the Earth came to hate and fear the Zabis, and by extension Side 3. At first the changes were gradual and seemingly normal, a few Zeon companies launching some revolutionary technology, Side 3 going down the path of greater self-reliance and along with civil and economic reforms, nothing too major. Then in what appeared to be almost overnight, Zeon quickly became the largest and most advanced economy in the Earth sphere, producing technological wonders that greatly outstripped anything in the Earth sphere. Then came the rise of Degwin and Gihren, how both men spouted out speeches not of philosophical nonsense, but of a social revolution where Zeon would stand supreme above the Earth sphere and launch the Newtype age. Unlike Deikun and his talk, Degwin and Gihren were man of action and had within the span of just a few short years, consolidated Side 3 into their own personal state and where transforming the Side into a nation that outperformed the Terran countries and the other colonial Sides in almost every category. In certain politanks it's believed that the true reason for the Federation exporting billions of humans to space was not to help the environment, rather to weaken the founding Terran nations to ensure that the Federation would become a strong centralized government with no one member having the power to challenge its authority. In the process all they had done was create a state that was looking to tear the establishment of the Universal Century down and bring in Spacenoid rule.

The revelation of the Newtypes and the creation of the Principality had turned these worries into mass hysteria. Here was the existence of a nation that was emerging to dominate the Earth sphere economy and support the growth of the "Superhuman" Newtypes. Zeon was a nation that appeared to have resurrected the long dead system of Fascism and brought new life to the ideology in the Universal Century (it wasn't something to hard to not believe when their motto was literally ripped from Hitler). To many on Earth Zeon had become a pariah state that was seeking to tear down the Federation through their grand ambition. I'm ashamed to say that some of these fears where present within me when I was traveling with Kamille in space even though I knew it was the best and only option for him to live a peaceful life. Would he live in a tyrannical state that indoctrinated him on Spacenoid supremacy? Would life really be better than staying on Earth.

However when I took my first steps into Zum City, I found out that all the rumors of life on Zeon were exactly that, rumors; exaggerated lies brought on by fear and paranoia. There were no posters of the Zabis lying around and people shouting "Heil Degwin!" when greeting each other in the streets. The citizens of Side 3 acted much the same as you would find in any city back on Earth or in the other colonies, if anything there was a friendly and vibrant atmosphere throughout the colony. The populace weren't oppressed and miserable, they were happy and free to do as they pleased and seemed to be rather well off in most cases. The infrastructure and cityscape looked modern and efficient, if not futuristic, far advanced than the century-old and decaying architecture back on Earth.

I didn't make it too far into the city with Kamille though before being pulled over by men in black trenchcoats who claimed to be men from the OSS. At first I was deathly afraid that they were Zabi agents who were going to lock me up and take Kamille to be studied in the Flanagan Institute, that the rumors of Zeon's tyranny were true all along. Yet instead of taking me by force, they greeted me warmly and said that I was apparently on an Important Persons list and were offering asylum and would do their best to secure amnesty to clear me from the actions I took against Franklin. They didn't once bring up Kamille's powers, only mentioning him in assuring that his safety would be secured and he wouldn't be separated from me.

After being convinced that it would be best to cooperate with State Security, I was escorted to the headquarters of the OSS in order to be questioned of everything that I knew about Jaburo's efforts towards the creation of a mobile suit program. From the intensity of their questioning I was surprised that the rumors of how much weight the Zabis put into their mobile suits were actually true. I knew that the constructs were highly prized within Side 3, but from everything that M'Quve fellow made the situation out to be, it looked like mobile suits were treated as one of the highest priorities of national security for Zeon. _'Why? It's not like mobile suits can dominate the battlefield. They can't possibly stand up to tanks and starfighters, could they?'_ I cooperated as much as I could but from how I couldn't participate in whatever Franklin was working on due to maternity leave, I didn't know more besides broad concepts of the project and whatever Franklin decided to blurb about. Fortunately this seemed like enough for my the OSS agents and they actually offered both Kamille and I temporary housing in a secure location and a chance to be employed at one of Zeon's top defense corporations. Apparently because of the fact that I was positioned on a special interests list of people created by Gihren Zabi. _Gihren Zabi!_ The Crown Prince of Zeon and one of the most powerful men in the Earth sphere. _'What could I have ever done to gain the Zabis notice? Nothing I did was ever remarkable. Was it because of Franklin?'_

This led me to where I currently am, on a tour within Zeonic.

"And this section right here is our mobile suit department, a place I'm told that you might be a part of if you begin employment. P.R likes to parade mobile suits as the flagship of the company, if the giant life-sized statue of the Waff wasn't enough indication. While we have diversified thoroughly in the last few years, it was contracts for the Waff alongside other government work for the Principality that gave us tens of billions to launch us off the ground. If you work in MS and you play your cards right you can get up pretty high with Sakamoto-san, the benefits are too crazy to pass up." Advised a Zeonic employee named Ellie Wu, who was acting as my unofficial guide within the office, having been fully briefed on my background and situation.

"I'm well aware of Zeonic's work in the mobile suit industry, the corporation has become somewhat notorious for its current monopoly in MS. I just don't understand how I could exactly contribute in any meaningful manner. I'm a metallurgist not an engineer. I'm sure there are others employed here you can call upon." I pointed out.

Ellie nodded in understanding, "It's true you may not be an engineer Ms. Bidan, but our work here goes far beyond our engineers and like I said earlier we are diversifying the company very rapidly. At this point while we do have a plethora of designs to chose from and put into production, at this point the usage of steel alloys are limiting the full potential of the future units that we create. Because of this, a good amount of research is being invested into the usage of Titanium and ceramic composites in future mobile suit lines. We're also in the middle of negotiating agreements with Iron Astroid for cooperation on contracts for ore extracts from the Belt. With someone of your qualifications, I'm something we can find something for you to contribute."

I slightly nodded, understanding the logic behind it. Before I could ask another question, I twisted my heel and tripped. Unfortunately I didn't see that there was someone infront of me and I collided headfirst into an employee, causing a minor accident, though one that would change my life for the better.

"I'm so sorry about that, I should've watched where I was going." I apologized, trying to get my bearings.

The man who I ran into just laughed it off lightly, "It's okay, these types of things happen. Though I suppose we'll have to knock the board down to 0 days without an incident in the workplace now." He joked, "Here let me give you a hand." He said, stretching his right arm in front of me. I accepted his offer and grabbed onto his hand, pulling myself up where I saw the full appearance of the man who I had bumped into. He was a rather tall figure standing somewhere presumably above 1.83 with a slender frame and a face that featured traits of Japanese descent, though his accent sounded slightly Canadian and that along with the Purple hair didn't give too much of an indication of origin. His face was rather heavily chiseled and he sported a pair of glasses. Overall his appearance was rather handsome in a rugged and nerdy sort of way, though just from looking into his eyes he seemed rather saddened, though not depressed. "Are you alright ma'am." He asked, I fought the urge to blush, embarrassed from seemingly staring.

"I'm alright mister..."

"Tem, Doctor Tem Ray. I'm Head of Research and Development for the deparment." He said, reaching out his hand again which I shook unconsciously. A second after he said his name I took a step back in shock upon realizing who I came in contact with.

"Tem Ray, the Tem Ray!"

He smirked at my reaction, "So I take it that you've heard of me."

I nodded, "You've become rather infamous back on Earth for your work here in the company. My hu-, my _ex-husband_ used to complain frequently about how everything he and his staff did were compared to your work. It seemed that Jaburo never really got over you leaving, especially with you quickly becoming one of the leading minds in mobile suits." Apparently whatever I said soured Tem's mood and caused him to frown, looking downcast and all previous energy that he had draining.

Taking notice, Ellie quickly rushed in front of me and tried to provide a distraction. "Tem! It's so nice to see you here again! When did you come back? I hadn't heard a word."

Tem smiled bitterly, "Well I got back last Thursday and I've been busy catching up since then. How'd you not notice?"

Ellie rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Well I just got back from vacation Sunday and I didn't really bother too much with hearing what went down while I was gone. Is everything...okay now."She asked reluctantly, seeming to not want to get whatever had Tem upset.

Tem let out a sigh and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine for now. I've started going to some sessions and I'm pretty sure Amuro's bounced back, him being happy has helped pushed me through. It's going to take some time getting used to...this, but I'm going to manage." It seemed that he was about to continue on, but then stopped when he noticed my presence again. "I'm sorry but who are you?" He asked.

I looked away slightly in embarrassment for not immediately introducing myself, "My name's Hilda...Bidan. _'At least for the next couple of days until I can get those papers through.'_ "I just immigrated to Zeon and right now I'm currently looking for employment. Miss Wu here was just giving me a general tour of the building." I said.

"What was that you said about working for Jaburo." Tem demanded somewhat harshly. I was about to respond but Ellie beat me to it.

"Hilda here is a metallurgist that was recruited by a Federal project on MS, though she was never able to begin work. Let's just say that she found herself in... _similar_ circumstances to you and decided to pursue alternate employment here at Zeon." She said in a low voice. Tem's eyes widened with understanding upon hearing Ellie's information, I for one was puzzled just by what she meant by similar circumstances. _'They said that he fled because of something with his family, was his own child threatened to?'_

"I see. You said you were a metallurgist correct?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Did you ever happen to have any experience with Lunar Titanium?"

I shook my head at the strange question, "No, most of the existing supply is stored on Von Braun and I never had any connections with Anaheim to study it. Besides its too new of a concept for any detailed work, why do you ask?"

He lightly raised his shoulders, "Just curious. Let's just say that I'm looking into its uses for a pet project of mine. Listen Ms. Bidan, if the Federation hurt you in any way, then starting over in Zeon is the right choice. It's done wonders for me, and Zeonic has been a huge part of that. If I were you I would take whatever offer they have. Sakamoto treats his employees right and you can do valuable work within these halls, and with our current contracts you can even get back at the Federation. Listen I'm going to head back to my office now. If you do get hired then come seek me out, there's some things that I'd like to talk about, and I think I'd be more than willing to hear your story." Before I could question him on what he meant, Tem turned around and walked briskly into the hall. _'Get back at the Federation?'_

"What exactly did he mean by all of that?" I asked.

Ellie looked around the immediate area, apparently looking to see if anyone else would hear our conversation. Once satisfied she motioned me to lean close and then whispered, "Okay, so we've kind of been told not to gossip or blab about what's been happening, but I figure that with your situation it's okay. See, Tem used to work as a contractor for the Federal Forces, however last year he defected to Zeon because they would've taken his son Amuro since he's a Newtype. Everything was fine for Tem and his family until over a month ago when their home exploded and his wife died, right in front of him and his boy. Officially the ZCPD and OSS said it was anarcho-terrorism and the suspected bombers were found dead after the incident. However we're all pretty sure that it was Jaburo trying to get back at Tem for leaving him, sending us a message. The OSS has been crawling all over the building within the past several weeks, and some of our high value employees have had to enter temporary protective programs. I don't think something like that's going to happen any time soon, but you never really know. We have tens of billions in contracts with the Defense Department and we're one of the few companies to take the fight to Anahiem. Zeon was murdered just for taking a stand and I bet you Jimba Ral was working for Lhasa. If you want you can start a new life here in Zum City and not have to get involved in all of this political conflicts. But like Tem said, if you want to get back at the Federation this is one of the best places to be."

"I see." I meekly replied. Before this last week I was rather ignorant and apathetic of the brewing "Terran vs. Spacenoid" issues that seemed to be on the rise all around the Earth sphere. Back on Earth everything appeared tranquil at first glance. After all what could possibly be wrong with the Federation if they instituted world peace, were fixing the environmental crisis, and creating a solution to the overpopulation crisis by creating homes for billions in the colonies. Most Terrans believed that there was no fault in the current system and it was the colonies to blame, after all weren't the Spacenoids simply being ungrateful fascists that were demanding for solutions to problems that didn't exist. Yet just being here within Zeon for a few days, it seemed like the truth of the matter was reversed entirely. Here the citizens of Zeon had embraced their conditions and grew beyond the limitations of the colonies, creating a new nation out of nothing and advancing themselves above the Earth. They saw Newtypes like Kamille and didn't see them as monsters, rather as people with gifts who should be nurtured and supported to fulfill their potential. Was this attitude really so wrong? How are the Zabis authortarian monsters when they protected the rights of their citizens and didn't try to hunt down and control the Newtypes for being different.

"You said that Doctor Ray had a son that was a Newtype, Amuro was it?"

Ellie nodded in response, "Yes, he's seven I believe. Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious how someone like him is able to adapt in Zeon. My son Kamille won't remember anything about this time and he probably won't be affected much by what's happening, I just hope that I made the right decision and he can have a normal life despite being a Newtype."

Ellie put a hand on my shoulder in reassurance, "I promise you Ms. Bidan, you don't have to worry a thing about that boy's future. Honestly the whole "Newtype Scare" is just nothing but hype brought on by the media. There are a good number of Newtypes that work here in the office, I even know some in my family. They're just people like you and me who are hardly any different besides better reflexes and spatial awareness. Though I do have to say that there are quite a few among them who fit the superhuman type, Amuro is a good example of that. On the outside he's a very sweet and shy kid who acts like any boy his age. However Tem's brought him into work a few times and I'll tell you that kid's a certified genius, he understood everything that was going on here and could keep up prolonged discussions with some of our engineers over advanced robotics. He even built this toy robot that we're going to sell on the market later in the year. If your son has high Newtype potential then he's got a good life ahead for him."

"That's really good to know." I said in reply. If Kamille had even a fraction of such high potential then I could watch him grow up to become a brilliant and talented young man. If I stayed on Earth then he would've been exploited for his gifts, here in Zeon however he can be supported and use them to create a good life for himself. It was increasingly starting to look that I had made the right decisions after all. _'If Tem Ray can make a new and better life here, then why can't I?'_

Later that day after completing a tour of the building, I accepted Zeonic's offer for a position as a metallurgists primarily staffed with the Mobile Suit department. They were quite happy with my response and said that I would be able to work as soon as I settled found a place for Kamille and I. The next week I would begin my career at Zeonic, and from there I would get to grow closer to the man known as Tem Ray.  
 **  
A/N: And that's a wrap. Now I'm sure with this chapter there will be a lot of questions of what went on, so I'll explain. Many of you are probably wondering why the heck Kaiser Gihren didn't bother to recruit Kamille's parents beforehand. Will as explained in Chapter 29 and mentioned in other chapters, Zeon has been very successful in recruiting MS engineers and scientists all over the Earth sphere, to the point where the very best and brightest in the entire field can all be found in Side 3. However this has produced a backlash where Gihren taking everyone he can caused Jamitov to raise some eyebrows and begin his own MS program, at the very least his efforts denying Zeon some potential contributors. So the Federation under Jamitov's explicit funding and guidance, began its own MS program with the Guncannon and future Guntank MK. II's. Kamille's parents where recruited at the last second because they were relatively new onto the scene so not Gihren's first priority unlike Tem, who proved in cannon to be the key to Project V. Franklin played the most part in getting the Bidans to the side of the Federation as he saw a hefty check from Jaburo and climbing up the ranks in the Terran bureaucracy to be far more beneficial long-term than any job in Zeon, where Franklin would be far lower than his current position. Also for those who may think that Franklin is acting OOC and too harsh or cruel, this is more or less exactly along the lines of cannon. Rewatching Zeta he is shown to be a complete scumbag with how he physically assaults Hilda for bringing up his mistress, turned a complete blind eye to the Titans atrocities, didn't grieve for Hilda once when he found out she was** _ **killed in a hostage situation by his employers**_ **; and worse of all after reconnecting with Kamille, he doesn't give two shits about his son and tries his best to get back to the Titans so he can continue his work, in the process of doing so firing on Kamille,** ** _knowing that he could've killed his own son_** **. Degwin despite all of his faults should easily win Parent of the Year in comparison to Franklin. So all in all its a really good thing that Hilda left him and took refuge in Zeon with Kamille. For Hilda things from here should take a sharp upward shift in the future, especially upon connecting with a fellow purple-haired MS Engineer (Hint, hint!).**

 **So with this chapter comes the end of a lot of personal drama for now. Next time we'll dive right back into Zeon politics with Chapter 32, "Sasro Zabi vs Eric Rumsfeld." The next chapter is an election debate between Sasro and his opponent for the position of MP of Zum City, so feel free to send in questions and topics that you'd like Sasro to discuss and debate upon. Keep in mind though that this will not be an town hall type debate and I already do have a number of topics that both candidates will respond to, so some questions and topics may not be addressed. From now on for the next couple of months we will be going into greater worldbuilding of the Earth sphere beyond Side 3 along with the schemes of the Zabi family now that they are heads of the Principality. Every now and then we will have some minor slice-of-life chapters to show how certain characters such as Amuro, Artesia, and others are developing with the divergences. Lastly for those of you who are desperately wanting an MS chapter, somewhere from Chapter 34-36 I will include a large mock space battle with the introduction of Zaku-I's in combined warfare. So get hyped for the upcoming fight.**

 **By the way as a minor heads up, I'll be editing some of the past chapters in the coming weeks in order to change the text and get rid of some clunky dialogue, grammatical errors, unneeded exposition, and other mistakes. Just know that all of the major plot points and story developments will stay the same and almost nothing will be retconned. I'll alert you guys if I change anything major or add some scenes.**

 **Lastly happy Valentine's Day and I wish you all a great day with your significant others. From here on there will be more romance chapters and plotlines integrated into Gihren's Glory so I'll try to do my best to write such occasions with high quality, especially when working on cannon for reading again, until next time this has been Kaiser Chris. Sieg Zeon!**


	32. Sasro Zabi vs Eric Rumsfeld

**March 19th, 0070. Side 3, Principality of Zeon. Sasro Zabi POV**

Degwin's second son, Gihren's right hand, Director of Party Propaganda, that brown-haired Zabi that was slightly smaller than Dozle; there were many things that I was known by within Side 3. However very rarely did people ever think of me as Sasro.

I think it started very early in my life, as soon as I started grade school. With Gihren being the older brother it was natural that I would be compared to him, such was the fate of all younger siblings. If I had literally any one else for an older brother or perhaps a sister, then this would never have been a problem. Unfortunately I was stuck with Gihren Alexander Zabi, a person who in many respects came only once in a lifetime. It was clear early on that not only was Gihren smart, he was a genius. To Gihren knowledge was only a tool to be used and tests were nothing but insignificant challenges to prove his intellect. Dissatisfied with the easy curriculum of the early grades, Gihren began delving himself into the more advanced curriculums. As soon as he started taking grades he got perfect scores in almost all of his examinations. Soon there was nothing to challenge him at his current level and Gihren became bored, craving for higher challenges. He skipped entire grades and graduated university at the age of 15, just a year before the usual level of entry for a college student. Gihren was the perfect student, someone with an intellect that few could challenge directly and could easily become a master at anything that he set his mind to. Against these kinds of achievements my peers and betters expected me to achieve something of a similar result, no matter how ludicrous those expectations were. While I was by no means a failure, in fact graduating the top of my class, I could never even come close to anything that Gihren had managed to accomplish. Every time I took a step closer, Gihren marched ten paces forward. No one could beat Gihren Zabi, it was an impossible dream.

I suppose if I had been father's last child then I could have done something to garner my own attention, enter into a field that Gihren was did not have an interest in and dominate everyone else to become the best. While I was going to follow into politics and state service like Gihren, the government and its bureaucracy was a vast machine and there were many places to shine.

Then my three younger siblings were born.

No matter what kind of a person Dozle would be he would always be remembered for his sheer size alone. Just standing in a crowd would draw all attention to him no matter how hard he tried to blend in. While Dozle was less intellectually talented than Gihren, Kycillia and I, he was by no means dumb as the masses believed him to be and in many ways could be considered to be a genius in military strategy, propelling him to the top of his class at the academy along with his numerous impressive physical feats. He rose through the ranks rapidly and was praised by many to be a model officer for the defense force. Of course his moment of fame and glory would come during the Jimbajacking where he along with Gihern and Ramba Ral of all people stormed the capitol by themselves and took down Jimba and his private army like it was nothing. Afterwords Dozle was practically the posterboy of the Space Force and praised by the masses for being a living legend that saved Zeon in its darkest hour. While Dozle and Gihren were off defending the family I was stuck in the damn hospital, immobile like a useless rag doll and doing absolutely nothing while our family catapulted into absolute power in our greatest hour.

Then there's Kycillia. Being the only female member of the family after mother and Naliss' passing, like Dozle she could have also done nothing and simply be rememberable for her body. With the development of a different personality Kycillia could've easily become one of those pretty princesses who do nothing but look good and smile for the camera, selling millions for their looks and fake personalities while the idiot masses are drawn into the facade to fulfill their childish fantasies. Kycillia would never act in this sort of petty manner though, she was a woman of action and would never settle for mediocrity in her life. Though she always denies so she is the one in her family who is most like Gihren. Even with Gihren mellowing out in recent years they both share so many of the same traits. The drive for perfection, the absolute hunger and viciousness to obtain their goals, the vast cunning and ingenuous intellect displayed by both that made them stand as Gods above others. Had Gihren never been born than it is likely that Kycillia would have become the star of the Zabi family. She was near Gihren's equal in the mind and had the fastest career track out of all of us when she was appointed to Director of State Security, turning the OSS from intercolony law enforcement to the most feared and powerful intelligence agency that in many ways surpass the CIA and KGB of the Cold War era. In many ways it is somewhat of a blessing that Kycillia decided not to go directly into politics, who knows just how much of a force she could've been.

Lastly there's little Garma. At the moment he's nothing more than a pretty face for the media, someone that gives our family a certain innocence and grace from the monsters that many may think of us as. While Garma has done nothing worthwhile, his only accomplishments being the adoration of millions of young girls across Side 3, at this early a stage I can recognize him as having vast potential to becoming a great leader, something I think father and Gihren have taken notice too. Garma has a large amount of charisma and an air of likeability about him that can turn enemies into friends and friends into devoted followers. He strove to follow in the example of his elder siblings and always came out on top against his peers, though Casval Deikun could certainly give him a run for his money. The only thing that was actually holding Garma back was a lack of ambition. The boy was far too humble for his own good and would never move beyond his station and accept anything that he didn't think he was worthy of. If one day he were to develop the same ambition as Gihren, there would be no telling how far Garma would rise. One thing was for certain, he would certainly surpass me.

Shortly after father became the Sovereign there was widespread speculation that I would replace Gihren and become the new Vice Minister, a natural practice of succession where I would be father's spare and Gihren's potential successor both in the Principality and the government. Father and Gihren were more than supportive of the practice, Gihren himself sought to advise me on how to best transition into the office and replace him. I was sorely tempted to do such a thing, the thought of achieving such a position filled me with an immense amount of pride and satisfaction. I was so close to accepting such an offer. Then, one day while I was walking through the party headquarters, something that would usually never be of any importance, I overheard a conversation that gave me a grand epiphany.

 _"There goes Lord Sasro. It's amazing to think that should anything happen to Lord Gihren that he'll become the future Sovereign. You know he's going to be the Vice Minister soon."_

 _"Of course, he's Gihren's brother after all. I don't think he could ever match him in performance though,_ _ **no one could ever be like Gihren**_ _."_

I kept on trying to tell myself that these were nothing but the words of fools, people who had no true understanding of the complexity of politics and were beneath the Zabis. Yet the more those words kept on playing in my head, the more I realized it was true. If I did accept the office of Vice Minister, then I would do nothing but following in Gihren's shadows as usual. I'd just be seen as a carbon copy of him, one who obtained my positions solely due to father's influence and had nothing worthwhile to contribute. Father says that it was me who was responsible for ensuring his ascension as Sovereign, these are nothing but hollow words. A monkey could've run the campaign and Degwin Sodo Zabi still would've been chosen by the people, there was absolutely nothing at all that could've brought him down, only active Federal intervention would have stopped the referendum. Something that Kycillia was responsible for stopping.

This is what lead me to my current situation at the moment, in a room backstage in the Apollo Stadium looking over flashcards while a cosmetic specialist tended to my appearance, preparing for the first debate for the election of the parliamentary seat for Zum City's first district. From a certain point of view it could be considered somewhat of a downgrade from my current position, it was beneath my status as a Zabi, however this was something that I had to accomplish. Father was the only person in the family who consistently won elections through popular vote, everyone else in the family, even Gihren as the Prime Minister, got their positions based solely on high merit and extreme nepotism. If I win this election then this can be the one thing that I can hold high against my siblings, that hundreds of thousands people went to the polls and chose Sasro Zabi to be their leader. That was something that Gihren could never hold as an accomplishment.

A loud knock on the door interrupted my thoughts and I turned to see a Royal Gaurdsmen hold it open slightly, "Lord Sasro, Lord's Gihren and Garma along with Casval Deikun are outside and are waiting to see you."

"Good, send them in." Turning to the mirror and satisfied with my appearance I motioned the stylist out, "Leave us, I would wish for privacy with my brothers." The stylist did as they were told and scurried out, a few seconds later followed in Gihren and the boys.

"How's everything going Sasro, you prepared for tonight?" Gihren asks.

I snort at his concern, "I'm more than prepared for someone who's nothing more than an upstart lawyer. I helped guarantee the party's success in the last election along with the creation of the Principality. My experience combined with my intellect will be more than enough to triumph tonight.

"While I know you are by far the better candidate brother, you must remember that greater elections have brought about the most unexpected of upsets. Not to mention how so many great leaders manage to ride to victory just based off a simple debate." Gihren said.

"I'm not some Nixon wannabe and Rumsfeld is no Kennedy. Besides while I may not work up a crowd like you, I have enough experience to no how to work with people." I respond in return. Sometimes I just can't stand when Gihren tries to use a historical reference to as the basis for every single one of his arguments. Not only because of the fact that he was usually right, half the time I had to look up in a book just what the hell he was talking about. _'Just when the hell did he become so obsessed with the 20th century anyways?'_

Taking attention away from Gihren I turn towards Garma and his friend, "Garma, so nice of you to come tonight. I have to say though I'm surprised to see you here Casval."

Deikun's heir simply shrugged his shoulders in response, "I had nothing better to do tonight and Garma insisted that I come so I figured I might as well watch. If I was old enough I'd vote for you anyways Sasro; you, Gihren, and Uncle Degwin are the only ones I trust to protect father's legacy over those slimy parasites my father trusted." Casval said with his words laced with venom, anger at the Orthodox Contolists highly visible.

I shared a brief glance with Gihren who seemed to share the same concerns as I. While having the Deikuns as our political allies was an immense boon, one that almost surely helped father to become the Sovereign, it was a potential double-edged sword due to our standing in Side 3 relying on three people. Astraia and Artesia were harmless and of no threat to the Zabi dynasty, Casval though, the boy was a predator who would strike at all who he thought would dishonor his father's name and legacy. Garma's friendship with Casval was an immense blessing to the status of our family, one that alongside the boy's satisfaction at father's performance at Sovereign would keep him away from seeking higher office. If the Federation truly is responsible for Deikun's assassination like Gihren said, then they had made a lifelong enemy who would never relent on taking them down.

Sensing the mood in the air, Garma took it upon himself to switch topics, "So Sasro, did you prepare a victory speech after the show ends?"

I smiled at my youngest sibling's optimism. Coming from most this would be shallow flattery, Garma always meant what he said though and would give his undivided support to anyone of us no matter what we were doing.

"I have to actually experience the debate to prepare a statement about my performance. After tonight though there shouldn't really be any need for another debate in the rest of the campaign if all goes according to planned. Where's father by the way?"

At this question both Gihren and Garma's faces drop down, silently giving me the answer I knew might be coming. "At the moment he should be finishing up a meeting with the new Secretary of Colonial Relations, Fernando Lopez. Usually I'd just tell father to blow it off, but Lopez isn't like his predecessor. He's a hardliner who believes his only job is to remind us of our place in the Earth sphere. Lhasa's gearing up for a trade war and we need to make Earth play on our terms. If anything I should be there at the moment though father assured me that he had it covered." While what Gihren said was an understandable excuse, I was still disappointed that he couldn't seem to make it. I remember quite clearly how he showed up to all of Gihren's events, just another reminder that the second son is secondary priority.

Seeing my state, Garma moved forward and tugged on my sleeves, "Come on Sasro, you know that father would make it if he could. He promised he'd come as soon as he was done. He'll be here you see."

"It is the Federation's fault." Casval said agreeing, "They always wanted to waste father's time just so that they could try and enforce their demands. Just another reason to win tonight."

"Kycillia seems to be a no-show." I said, though this didn't really affect me so much as I doubted she'd care in the first place.

"You're being too hard on her, with her job she hardly has any free time during the week. I actually called her and she does have important business at the current moment, relating to programs that I'd rather not mention with the boy's being here. Dozle should probably be watching right about now anyways, if he manages to get good enough coverage in Granada. He'll be home soon and he'll jump in the campaign if that helps."

Before I could respond my phone went off and I checked my pocket to see my alarm go off, "That means I'll have to get on stage in ten, so I should be leaving now." I said, rising up from my chair.

After I got out of my chair Gihren moved forward and wrapped me around in a hug, something surprising considering even with his friendlier demeanor he was never so casual. He leaned in close and I found out the real reason why,"Sasro I know you'll win tonight but you'll only do so if you keep your temper in check." I move my mouth to respond but before I do Gihren continues. "Don't try and argue against it, everyone in the family has it from father to Kycillia, well probably not Garma. Just keep a calm head and turn your opponent's argument against them with everything we've done so far. Remember you're a Zabi, this is but a small stepping stone in your path of glory and nothing can stop your determination. Show the people why we are the rulers of Side 3 that they need."

Inwardly I was grateful for Gihren's words. He may be the perfect son but it was hard to hate the man considering he really did do everything for the family. Besides Gihren couldn't be responsible for every good thing to happen for Side 3, there were plenty of opportunities here and in the future.

"Thanks for that." I softly say in reply. I let myself go in his embrace then proceed to head out, "Thanks for showing up boys, within a few hours you'll be talking to the frontrunner of the race."

 **Third Person POV**

It was 7 p.m Colonial standard time within Zum City's Apollo Stadium. The sports arena, which had been converted into a debate hall for the evening, had all of their seats sold out with tickets having gone weeks in advance due to the special nature of the occasion. After all it was not every day that one got to see a Prince run for office. There was virtually no silence within the stadium as everyone within the audience was chatting heavily in speculation of what was to come. Just the fact that Sasro had decided to _run_ for office had catapulted him into the the spotlight of the media, turning what would've been a mundane local affair into one of the most covered current events in the Earth sphere. To the people of Side 3, Sasro's decision to become a democratically elected representative had already gained him massive amounts of respect and and support across the Principality. It showed the people of Zeon that the Zabis really were sticking to their promises of standing up for the people and ensuring that their voices would be heard, even after seemingly gaining absolute power. Unlike the majority of constitutional monarchs and their families who did nothing but surround themselves with wealth and look pretty for a few pictures, the Zabi dynasty was actively working nonstop to create a better nation. In the past year alone, Zeon catapulted into practically becoming the most powerful of the Sides, while the _democratic_ Federation receded further into stagnation and decay.

Within private room in the club section was the Crown Prince Gihren Zabi, along with his younger brother Garma and Casval Deikun, the three of whom received occasional shots from the various cameras set up within the stadium. Sitting up front were Garma and Casval. Both were waiting high in anticipation, Garma to watch his older brother crush the opposition, Casval waiting to see how the debate would unfold and what course the Zeon government would take within the foreseeable future. While Casval was honest in his intentions to commit to a career in the Space Force and he did think of Sasro as a good man, he was still afraid of how Side 3 would turn out. It wasn't long ago that Casval used to think of Jimba Ral as a respectable politician who was one of his father's trusted allies. Yet within minutes after his Zeon Deikun's death, Jimba did his best to turn Casval and Artesia into his own puppets to gain absolute power. When that plan didn't work he resorted to terrorism and almost destroyed everything that had been achieved within the past few years.

Behind the two boys sat Gihren who was working on his personal laptop. At first sight this would seem a bit disrespectful to Sasro, in actuality Gihren was actively working to help his younger brother at the very moment, multiple tabs open on different social media sites to coordinate the reception of the debate, Gihren himself was streaming the entire show on his Youtube channel.

In his old life, Gihren didn't pay much attention or even use social media, thinking of the various sites as nothing but a frivolous waste of time that took attention away from real life. However just because he wasn't fond of it that didn't mean that he was entirely ignorant of its benefits and the immense power it had to sway public opinion. Gihren could vividly remember of how in the rather chaotic 2016 election how Donald Trump managed to pull off a huge upset against the expected winner Hillary Clinton. A large part of Trump's victory was due to his handling of social media, which while rather crass and very much improper at times, allowed Trump to successfully connect to his millions of followers and spread his populist rhetoric across the nation, something that the aloof Clinton tried and failed miserably to do. Trump and the GOP's greater strategy during the election in regards to using social media to connect to voters was nothing more than a copy-paste of Obama's innovative campaign strategies which allowed him and the Democrats to dominate the 2008 elections and hold onto power in 2012.

In Gihren's old world politicians who could not comprehend the current trends and connect to their constituents were swiftly kicked out of office, entire careers being destroyed based off a few small missteps and scandals which exploded into job-killing controversies thanks to the power of sites such as Facebook and Twitter. With the modern internet gaining steam and politicians in both Earth and the Sides unable to properly understand its potential power, social media was a tool that Gihren planned to exploit the hell out of in these elections and beyond. It had already played a significant role in the Principality referendum, Sasro using it to connect and reach out to the citizens of Zeon who didn't connect to traditional media. Tonight, Gihren intended to effectively play a similar role, either to share Sasro's brilliance or perform damage control in the worst-case scenario.

After a few minutes of preparation which was used for introductions and commercials on the news networks covering the debate, the show finally started. Most of the lights of the stadium dimmed down while those centering towards the makeshift stage lit up, spotlights centering on the two candidates walking onto the platform, on the right Sasro Zabi and on the left Eric Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld was an independent candidate who was one of the most well-known law practitioners within the Sides. The thirty-eight year old defense lawyer had covered a wide variety of well-known cases for the elite of Side 3, at one point serving for Zeon Deikun himself in an attempted slander lawsuit by the Settlement Issues Council. He was a frequent victor in most of his cases which made him a highly sought after attorney, Rumsfeld himself having some high connections within the Social Democrats, though almost no personal ties to the Zabi dynasty.

Months ago, Rumsfeld had originally planned to run as the Colonial Attorney for Zum City, however the announcement of Sasro's campaign presented the man with an excellent opportunity. Running against the Zabi would give Rumsfeld wide press coverage that would possibly make him a household name within Zeon. If he lost the race, then depending on his performance Rumsfeld could still run for high office thanks to establishing a large following and huge notoriety. If he won then Rumsfeld would become the person who successfully beat a Zabi, opening huge doors for career advancement and gaining immense power and influence. While ordinarily Rumsfeld would not be much of a threat, his campaign saw the influx of tens of millions of credits in donations. The money flow came from a variety of sources from Terran interest groups, Federal politanks, and most significantly a small number of celebrities and politicians within Side 3 who were openly anti-Zabi. These people were all united in their goals of seeing the Zabi dynasty taken down in its infancy. If Degwin's second son lost then the doors would be open for a wide variety of attacks to take down the Royal family. Needless to say that much was riding on this election.

The two went up to their respective podiums and shook hands, smiling and waving towards the camera. After the gesture of respect both opponents took their places, each putting on a mask to hide their true feelings of the other individual. Inside Sasro sneered at the audacity that Rumsfeld had to think that he could beat him in a race.

 _'I'll show him, just as I'll show all of Zeon tonight.'_ Sasro thought.

The spotlight switched to a table in front of the two candidates which sat a brown haired, mustached, white man in his late thirties; wearing a burgundy colored suit. The man himself looked as if he was from the 1970's with his slick hair held together by an obscene amount of hairspray that gave off a strong odor to all who were in the close vicinity. His name was Ronald Carmine, the head anchorman for ZNN and one of the most popular individuals from Side 3. He had a large amount of charm and charisma that made millions tune into his daily newscasts. In addition to his popularity Carmine was chosen for his officially neutral stance towards the politics of Side 3, the news media of Side 3 coming under fire from many within the Earth sphere for being pro-Zabi soapboxes, which in some cases was entirely true with Sasro himself controlling a shadow media empire that helped to craft the Social Democrats dominance across the Side.

"It's seven p.m colonial time and we are live from Apollo stadium, home to the Zum City Comets. Good evening Zum City, I'm Ronald Carmine from ZNN, voice of the colonies. Tonight I shall be the moderator for the first of three electoral debates for Zum City's first district city. It is a showdown of the ages, the prince versus the pauper, the outsider versus the party insider, independent versus Social Democrat, the people's attorney versus the people's prince. I am of course referring to our two candidates right here in front of us, Sasro Zabi and Eric Rumsfeld, who in six months will duke it out in the polls to be your MP. Tonight will be a two-hour debate discussing everything and anything relating to the current state of the Principality. Hold onto your seats folks, because the battle starts now.

According to our pre-debate coin flip Sasro Zabi shall be the first to deliver opening remarks. Sasro you have two minutes total time."

"Thank you Ronald, it's nice to have someone here tonight who isn't part of Federal Fake News." Sasro started jokingly, garnering a high amount of laughter in the audience. Fake News was a new term that had been created in the past year referring to the vicous media war between Side Three and the Earth over coverage of both the Federation and Zeon. In previous years large amounts of obvious bial and slander from Terran networks had been directed towards Zeon Deikun, isolating the fallen leader from billions of Spacenoids who he had tried to reach out to. The war on Zeon had only increased with the rise of the Zabis and the creation of the Principality, many news networks such as BBC, CBS, and JNN to broadcast coverage almost entirely focusing on the Zabis and their activities, stirring up as much controversy as possible no matter how hyperbulous, exaggerated, or outright lies and propaganda that they spouted. Sasro had Gihren to thank for coining the term thanks to his older brother bringing it up in several speeches, starting the Prime Ministers continuous war against the Terran media, only earning the man higher praise and adoration from Side 3.

"My fellow Spacenoids, Humanity once sought to bring a bright future into existence, one of technological wonders and limitless in its potential. The last years of the Anno Domini era brought about glimpses of that promised future. The scars of the Third World War were beginning to heal and our presence in space was becoming entrenched with each passing year. It seemed that mankind was on the verge of the golden era, that nothing was impossible. However, when the Universal Century began, the dream was forgotten, buried in conformity and stagnation. The Federation after its birth has done nothing but lie and spout out empty promises for seven decades. Lhasa has created a system that is solely for the benefit of the elite Terrans who have stayed behind, pushing the minorities, the political dissidents, traditionalists, undesirables; anyone who was deemed unfit to walk upon Earth by the Federation was sent to space in a cold exile. What awaited them was a life of servitude to push the needs of Earth before their own while they languished within the colonies that were meant to give them better lives. While others chose to continue their roles in this foul system, Side Three has chosen to take a stance and defy the plutocrats of Terra, working to create a better future for all Spacenoids so that we may rise up and achieve our Newtype potential. Such was the call of Zeon Zum Deikun, a visionary who took the first steps in creating a promised land for all Spacenoids.

In the wake of Zeon's passing the Principality emerged as a state which in its existence shall defend and spread the ideals of Zeon. Just look at where we are today. Zeon is widely regarded as the premier nation among the Sides, taking active leadership in uplifting our living standards against the restrictions from Earth. Our economy is _the_ dominant powerhouse within the entire Earth sphere, the Zeon miracle bringing about new technological wonders each and every day, every citizen able to obtain a job and support their families. Our government is one of reform with strong and swift action compared to the bureaucratic deadlock that is the Federal Assembly, where the simple matter of passing a budget will take _weeks_ to decide. The Spacenoid dream is alive and well, and it is through the Principality that this dream may become reality. By electing myself into office I shall work with the rest of the party to ensure that this golden era never stops, that we will create a better future for humanity. Sieg Zeon!"

Sasro's short, strong speech brought about a great amount of applause throughout the stadium. Upstairs Gihren smiled at his brother's good start. While it wasn't the most flamboyant or powerful of statements, Sasro had managed to clearly get his message across to the people. With the Zabis bringing about immense success that few could possibly rival, then why should Zeon call for new leadership. Don't fix what isn't broken after all.

To Sasro's right Rumsfeld gripped his podium tightly, though he kept up a poker face to show that he wouldn't be openly intimidated by the Zabi. After the crowd calmed down Rumsfeld began to speak, "My fellow citizens, it is true that I cannot deny what has happened here in the past few years. Zeon has achieved a great deal in such a short period. However, we must not be blinded into thinking that it is the Zabi family who is responsible for all the good that has come to Zeon. The Zabis are but only a handful of individuals, in truth it is the Social Democrats who we have to thank for our great fortune, for they have stuck to Deikun's vision and only act in accordance with his will."

At this Casval couldn't help but snort at the blatant hypocrisy that was taking place. Many who opposed the Zabis within Side 3 kept on trying to use the argument that the Zabi family were going against the will of Zeon Deikun, yet they all too frequently forgot that it was during Deikun's reign that he openly _supported_ most of Degwin and Gihren's policies that became the foundation for what the Principality stood for today. Rarely did Zeon ever disagree with those who he saw as true servants of the state. It made Casval sick to think of how many abused his father's name. _'Don't worry dad, Zeon will triumph in the end, we'll show Earth the error of their ways. They'll all see.'_ Casval thought.

"My opponent here prefers to stick solely to the accomplishment of his father and siblings as the sole basis for electing him, very rarely spouting his own arguments. While Sasro Zabi has only served the interests of the party with few achievements to his own name, I have actively worked my entire career to serve the interests of the people of Side 3 and protect our values and rights against the greed of Earth. Whether it was Zeon Deikun himself, or the lowliest of the masses, I have continued to fight the good fight and continuously claimed victory for truth and justice and the courts. What Zeon needs is a true arbiter of the law, especially in trying times like these. The Zabis like to spout that these golden years shall never come to an end, something that is nothing more than an idealistic impossibility. A state will never be able to continue economic growth without damage, for after the sun comes the storm. This has been proven many times within the last two centuries; the Great Depression, Stagflation, the Japanese bubble, Y2K. Instead of preparing for the worst outcomes, the Zabis continue with reckless spending in order to extend a temporary state of the economy. Our deficit has increased from over a hundred billion to five and a half trillion since 0065. The budget is edited nonstop with numerous cuts and cash flows into the same programs over the course of a fiscal year. Instead of economic cooperation the Zabis do everything they can to drive us to a trade war with the other Sides. Hundreds of billions into an armament program, to fight against _WHO_?! One of these days the Miracle will come to an end and without true fiscal responsibility and responsible government, then everything that we have worked for will be undone. People of Zum City, in order to make sure that this nightmare does come to pass then elect me to become your representative. Rumsfeld 0070, to keep power for the people."

Unlike Sasro's speech which had a largely positive response, Rumsfeld's got a bit more opposition. While there were a good number of applause, there were also a few boos mixed in and heckles from some of the more vocal pro-Zabi audience members. If one were to look closely at the audience though they would find that the expression on most people's faces was one of contemplation, on whether or not Rumsfeld's words actually had any merit to them.

While Sasro was ticked at his opponent for the personal insults, he had to give the man some amount of respect and credit. Unlike a majority of other opponents of the Zabis who did nothing but beat a dead horse by using the same old argument that absolute power would corrupt absolutely, Rumsfeld instead chose to dissect the Zabi's individual policies and how they could backfire with little restraint or regulation, causing a more harmful legacy than intended. These were valid points that a strong argument could be based around, not mindless ranting like how the Marcenas administration reacted to Zeon.

 _'Then again I shouldn't expect any less from a seasoned lawyer. All that means is that I'll have to put in some amount of effort tonight.'_ Thought Sasro.

After waiting for the audience to settle down, Carmine began to take lead again, "All right candidates thank you for your time. Now that we have opening statements out of the way, we shall begin with the first round of debates. Since Lord Sasro went first then we'll be switching to Attorney Rumsfeld for the first response. And for our first round we have the voter's favorite question, the Economy! Or in other words, will I be able to get my pay check next month. Mr. Rumsfeld, in your opening statement your strongest points were mostly centered around government excess and wasteful spending, yet according to recent polls most citizens of Side 3 seem to be in support of the Zabi's fiscal policies, the success of the Miracle speaking for itself. How do you propose to continue Zeon's current economic success, or advert potential disaster as you pointed out?"

Up in the stands Garma turned towards Gihren, "The economy really isn't in that bad of a shape is it?" The youngest Zabi asked. Economics was far from a strong suit of Garma's and he had always trusted that Zeon would pull through in the end. Even before the Miracle Zeon was a strong industrial power, second in the Earth sphere only to Side 1, Zahn.

"I can assure you Garma that we're not going to experience a collapse some time in the near future. I've been working very hard with father to ensure that none of our fiscal policies will have any catastrophic effects and that in the long-term they will be solely for Zeon's benefit. I'm not saying that nothing bad will ever happen in the future, especially depending on the state of the Terran economies and the Sides. Though for now so long as we maintain technological superiority and Zeon goods are in high demand, then we'll be in the clear. I will admit that we have had a number of fierce battles in Parliament over the budget, but that's just because the party wants to have their cake and eat it too by spending trillions yet taking fewer taxes. Rumsfeld's done nothing but rely on fearmongering, after all how does a lawyer know anything about economics?" Gihren said.

Garma saw the wisdom in his brother's words and turned his attention back to the stage. He had to silently agree with the lawyer's words on his brother being a flip flop. To use Gihren's own historical euphemisms, he had the mindset of a Reagan Republican yet acted like a New Deal Democrat.

"What Zeon needs in the future is tight fiscal spending under a balanced budget that will meet the necessary requirements towards our citizens yet won't put a heavy burden on them. The national budget shifts on a weekly basis with billions being passed around as if it was nothing but chump change. Too many educational, industrial, and corporate programs continue to be consumed by national subsidies, forcing a greater demand on the people's taxes which should be taken by the private sector and the minimum tax codes needed to pay for government institutions. The Zabis may say that this is all for progress, yet as soon as an economic recession hits the money's going to dry up and with no funds these programs are going to be crashing into free fall, reversing back any sign of growth. Zeon's corporations have the government have become too tied together and once one of them collapses the other is sure to follow. Our domestic policies aren't even the only problems here. While the miracle has uplifted our living standards, it's left our fellow Spacenoids and the people of Earth in the dust. Their markets are being destroyed by an aggressive Zeon economy that backs our goods with high tariffs. The result of this is going to be nothing more than an all-out trade war between Earth and space. When that happens we will be forced into isolation, the economy taking a 180 and plummeting into recession. I ask of my opponent simply one question, how long is Zeon going to continue engaging in fiscal irresponsibility to satisfy human greed?"

"My opponent here has done nothing to support his argument but engage in slippery slope and Post Hoc fallacy's in order to build up a case through fearmongering. He says that our policies will lead to economic ruin, yet doesn't offer how, nor does he point to any specific programs or decisions that will lead to a hostile market. There is no concrete solutions here, only vague promises and empty attacks. However, I shall humor my opponent in order to show him the error of his ways.

Yes, it is true that our fiscal budget has undergone a great amount of change and revision. This isn't because of any lack of foresight or reckless spending, rather due to an adaptation of the changing times. The previous economic disasters that my opponent mentioned was because of the said governments sticking to a single fiscal philosophy and refusing to change policy until the market comes crashing down on them. My father and brother have been working closely with the Treasury Department since the beginning of each fiscal year in order to create a strong budget that shall fulfill in our stated goals and give the necessary push to help the private sector stand against a hostile market that views our companies as the spawn of the devil simply because we our creating higher quality products at affordable prices, knocking them off of their pedestal from which they have sat comfortably for the past two centuries. Yes I do admit that our taxes have been high and that we have poured hundreds of billions into subsidies, yet these have only been continuations of programs that _Zeon Deikun_ fully approved and have been proven to work. Our educational system is producing the brightest and most innovative minds within the Earth sphere. The brain drain that so many on Earth complain about is because the educated know that Zeon is the future. Our work with our domestic corporations has helped to transform and build strong industrial powerhouses that are able to stand on their own and dominate private sector through their own merits and ingenuity. We have done nothing but give them a strong start and a slight push, supporting the companies who have proven themselves to become the chief causes of the Miracle. Our policies are those that give the people the tools to succeed. Nothing more nothing less." Sasro said, receiving high praise and cheers from the audience.

"All right for the rest of the round we shall enter into quick 45 second back to back responses to allow the candidates to play off of each other's statements. This shall continue for the next 15 minutes. Attorney Rumsfeld, you have the floor." Said Carmine.

"These subsidies may be working for now, however they will soon dry up and the government left short of revenue when our market is unable to compete in the other Sides and Earth, an outcome that the Zabis are eagerly working towards each and every day. Heavy tariffs enacted against our fellow Spacenoids which the Principality claims to stand for. Millions on Earth are protesting our policies and are demanding that the Federation take quick action, something that the Federal Assembly is working towards every day. Instead of standing side by side with the rest of humanity, we are pushing them away at every opportunity, building the elitist state that so many claim that Zeon is."

Rumsfeld expected a high amount of agreement towards his views, yet instead got a mixture of boos and heckles, confusing the lawyer immensely. This caused Sasro to form a large smile on his face, being given an excellent opportunity for a comeback thanks to his opponent's lack of knowledge in macroeconomics.

"And what exactly would you want me to do Eric, kill Zeon's businesses so that the Terran mega corporations can get their fat stocks increase? Since when has it been a crime to care for one's nation and work towards the betterment of its workers? Because if that's a crime then throw me and the rest of the Social Democrats in jail!" Sasro shouted, slamming his fist on the podium for dramatic effect, much to the applause of the audience. "In a free market economy, one can only survive by being resourceful and innovative, and Zeon has done just that. Is it a great wrong that our research field has produced some of the brightest minds within the colonies that continue to revolutionize current technology. Are we just supposed to sit back and let others whine like petulant children just because they couldn't come up with better products than our corporations? Yes we have taxed the goods of the other Sides, however these were only temporary measures to allow our small businesses and corporations the ability to have a strong foundation with the support from our citizens. Once that was accomplished we began to gradually scale down tariffs in order to allow for open markets. My father has recently begun entering into negotiations with both Riah and Hatte, already we have achieved fair trade deals with numerous lunar cities such as Granada. We have reached out to the other colonies and the Earth yet in response we get firm rejection and spite. Not because of any unfairness of our end, but because in our pettiness Earth refuses to acknowledge the achievements of the Zeon worker. Earth has had their own opportunities to achieve the same level of progression. Yet in return all they do is increase Colonial Taxation and give tax cuts to big business and the 1%. Is our taxation policy so wrong when the Federation takes the entirety of our agricultural surplus with no compensation, only to turn around and sell us our produce for a high cost. When the Federation taxes trillions from the Sides as part of their colonial tithes and in return gives us the bare minimum of welfare and hardly a drop of funding for our education or infrastructure, all the while passing these laws in an assembly that no Spacenoids, the _majority_ , have an absolute say in? This is the hypocrisy that the Federation has continued to build upon since its inception. A state where the elite build their fortunes off of the suffering of the working Spacenoid. I ask you this, which government is truly irresponsible. The Principality, created by the people for the people. Or the Federation, lapdogs of the Mega Corporation."

A strong amount of applause followed which showed that Sasro had gained a lead against his opponent with his argument. Up in the stands the cheering of the Gihren, Garma, and Casval were interrupted when the door to their private room opened, entering Degwin Zabi, the Sovereign of Zeon.

"Father!" Garma shouted, jumping up and rushing to hug his dad. Degwin smiled and returned the gesture to Garma. With the rest of his children practically adults and having matured greatly, it was still quite a treat for Degwin to have Garma as his little boy. Kycillia often said that Degwin spoiled Garma too much, though the Sovereign didn't care. Degwin had already made his mind that he was never going to remarry again and with his children's rather non-existent romantic lives there was no telling when there would be a young Zabi in the family again. Thus Degwin made sure to cherish these moments of care and affection, especially since he knew that Garma would be maturing into a young man soon.

"Good to see you too Garma." Degwin then noticed the sole blond present in the room, "Casval, glad you could join us. I didn't expect to see you here tonight." Casval made his way over to Degwin and gave a somewhat awkward hug, though Degwin didn't mind. Casval had never really been too much of an affectionate person and had trouble connecting to others. The Zabis were one of the few people outside of his mother and sister that Casval could ever claim to be close to.

"Hey Uncle Degwin. Garma invited me over tonight and I thought Sasro could use the support. He seems to be doing pretty well so far and I think he can win it. I can't believe just how good all of you guys are at public speaking. Even Garma's pretty good whenever he gives a speech at school." Casval said, his best friend beaming with pride at the compliment.

"I guess you could say it runs in the family. I've always tried to model my style after your father personally. I can work up a crowd, but Zeon, he could preach for hours on end and always knew how to spread his message to the masses. I think Gihren's the only one who could've possibly matched him in a war of words, he was just too brilliant." Degwin said, then lightly patting Casval on the shoulder in order to cheer him up.

"Uncle Degwin, is it okay if I stay over for the night? I talked to my mom and she already said it was alright." Casval asked.

"Sure thing Casval, you know you're always welcome in our home anytime." Degwin said. Ever since the passing of his friend, Degwin had taken up the role of a father figure in Artesia and Casval's lives. For Artesia, Degwin filled the void of fraternal affection and support that Artesia sorely lacked in her young age. For Casval, Degwin acted as a mentor and guidance figure to hopefully turn the boy into a man worthy of the Deikun name. Admittedly for Degwin there were many political conveniences to obtaining such a high influence over the Deikun children, however he instead saw it as a way to repay his debt to Zeon and atone for how he had at several points manipulated Deikun's position and influence for his own greed. Just the memory that he and his family had actually planned of what to do in Deikun's death deeply disturbed and disgusted the Zabi patriarch. A political necessity that he was utterly shamed in partaking.

Outside of the benefits of being close to the Deikun family, Degwin was simply glad for the influence that Casval had on his youngest son. For most of Garma's earliest years the boy was isolated and lacked any form of close friendship. Degwin was painfully aware of the situation though like with his other children, he failed to find any way to help Garma in his greatest time of need. Thankfully Casval had came in and since then Garma saw the Deikun as practically his fourth brother. While Garma may have had other friends such as the Sahalin girl, he would always remained closest to Casval who had become a trusted and loyal companion. For that Degwin was forever grateful.

Turning away from the young boys, Degwin strode forward and sat down next to his eldest son, who gave his attention through a half-hug from his left arm. "Gihren."

"Father." Gihren acknowledged. "I'm surprised to see you here so early, I thought that the talks would at least take another hour."

At the mention of the meeting he left Degwin's face turned sour. "Bah, a waste of time if you ask me. I don't even know why I bothered to deal with that wretched man. It's hard to try and negotiate with somebody when he's so hellbent that he's the one in charge and that I should bend to his every demand like some frail sheep. He could've just saved us both the time and simply emailed me what he wanted instead of ranting about "The need to remember our place" and how we're the cause of every woe to the Federation in recent memory. Goldberg may have been a ineffective and weak-willed, but at least she was polite!"

Gihren nodded in support, glad that his father took the bullet on that one. "By the way how is my boy looking down there? He's not letting that pompous proctor walk over him is he?"

"See for yourself." Gihren said, pointing to Sasro, who looked to be ripping into Rumsfeld's argument onstage.

"-I've openly published online my tax polices which is very much in line with the current parties agenda, yet at the same time my opponent has issued no concrete statements beyond vague spiels about how he'll lower taxes and cut spending. Just how exactly do you think that a Side just as large as ours is able to operate without a strong federal budget? Sacrifices had to be made through taxation and in return the people received responsible and efficient governance in government sources. Our unemployment is at 2.3% and dropping and yet you call that signs of a disaster?! The infrastructure and educational programs are all thanks to the income generated by our citizens hard labor. Here in Zeon we use taxpayer's funds to produce only the most efficient results, unlike the Federation's sorrowful excuse for a fiscal policy which is nothing more than corporate bailouts to wall street monopolies. When has Anahiem ever been in danger of failing?!"

Degwin smiled at his son's performance and gave off light applause to join in the support from the rest of the audience. "That's good to see. I know that Sasro always feels that I may neglect him compared to the rest of you, however while I may not be able to easily show it, that doesn't mean I'm just as proud of him and his work."

"I think deep down that he knows so father. Just you coming here tonight, even late, will give him all the support that he needs." Gihren said.

For the next fifteen minutes the two candidates continued to duke it out over the economy. Once Sasro made sure that his main points and arguments against Rumsfeld were firmly out in the open, he switched tactics and began to explain in great detail each one of the Zabi's primary economic policies in the various industrial sectors, ignoring Rumsfeld for the most part except occasional jabs at the man during his speaking time. The lawyer knew very much that he was starting to lose his grip in the economic sector and looked like he was waiting to get the first run over and done with. Beyond a detailed tax policy that involved cuts in taxation and spending, it looked as though Rumsfeld didn't have much to offer, failing to impress with the voters. He then tried to go after Sasro's character and that of the Zabis, though this just got him off the worse foot with the audience with some members actively booing. Rumsfeld even started to openly gaffe, with the worst being him making the statement "That's not going to work!" in rebuttal to Sasro's fiscal plans.

While Sasro railed on him for a bit and the audience took it as a light joke, Gihren was actively taking notes and starting to post a series of tweets mocking him for the statement and planning various potential videos and jokes that he could make by tomorrow. Meme culture was in its infancy in Zeonet and Gihren planned to make this gaffe one of the first and strongest memes for the web. Some may have called him paranoid, though it's not as if this tactic hadn't worked before. Howard Dean's "Rebel Yell", Mitt Romney's "47%", Robo Rubio, Rick Perry and the Department of Energy, literally anything that came out of the mouth of Dan Quayle; gaffes such as these could transform overnight into campaign killing slogans. That was a goal that Gihren intended to come true by late night at the earliest.

After it was clear that the economic portion had been won by Sasro and they were beating the bush, Carmine decided to switch topics. "Thank you attorney for your statements. Our next topic is one that has become the hottest buzz around the Earth sphere, Newtypes. As many of you know, our great fallen leader Zeon Deikun was the creator of the Newtype theory, one that in his last months of life he was able to see true with the work of the Flanagan Institute that had uncovered that Newtypes were indeed real and among us. Since then while much research has been done among our Newtype brothers and sisters, there is still far much that we do not know about their full powers and potential. While Zeon has embraced the emergence of the Newtype, many on Earth and even in the other Sides are distrustful and fearful of these people, describing them as superhumans. Even here in Zeon we have had a fair number of issues with how exactly Newtypes can operate as equals in the workplace and in education.

Lord Sasro, the Zabis have made it their stated mission to chart Side Three and humanity on the path of achieving their Newtype potential, just how exactly are we going to get there? And in the meantime, how exactly will us Oldtypes be able to adapt to this ever changing world?"

"While it is very understandable that there are many worries over the physical emergence of Newtypes and the vast unknown variable that is their powers, the current reaction and backlash to the existence of Newtypes within the Earth sphere is completely disgusting and unacceptable at any given level. When the Universal Century began it was supposed to become a time of peace and understanding, where mankind would get rid of its past prejudices and become an enlightened race. Yet instead of embracing this new change and working together to fulfill our Newtype potential, the elite of Earth have chosen to act as nothing more than bigoted brutes in their disdain and loathing of the Newtype. Witch hunts through the streets of Earth, lynching of innocents who may not even be aware of being a Newtype in the first place, the passing of numerous "equality" laws that put Newtypes in a disadvantage to solely cater to Oldtype interests. This is discrimination, the rise of a Newtype Apartied! Zeon Deikun sought to use the Newtype as a way to bring mankind together. That through our struggles in space mankind can evolve and better understand one another by realizing our latent potential. Sadly it seems that Deikun was far ahead of our time and too many refuse to change with the times. All over what, the belief that their fellow man is somehow an inhuman monster?

Since the official discovery of Newtypes Zeon has become the foremost leader in the research of Newtype theory. While the so-called "Newtype labs" on Earth have done nothing but try and exploit Newtypes and keep them under harsh control, the Flanagan Institute has done everything in their power to fully understand the complexity and limitless possibilities of Newtype potential. Beyond understanding what a Newtype is, the Institute in cooperation with the Department of Health and Human Services are coming up with new physical and psychological standards to judge Newtypes and treat them as equals in education, sports, the workplace, and beyond. The Zabi family has always stood supporters of the Newtype awakening and we shall never stop in our quest to bring out the totality of Newtype potential." Sasro said, once more bringing about a strong amount of applause and support from the audience.

"Admittedly I have to agree much with my opponent on the stance of Newtypes. Just within this past year I have had numerous colleagues within my firm who have taken on cases of discrimination against Newtypes across the Side. For unfortunately in spite of our great fallen leader's teachings, when you transition Newtype theory into reality many are not so easy to accept their fellow man as they'd like to believe. I myself have a nephew who's a Newtype, his name is Jimmy and he's a bright young boy who is just like any other child his age. That's because beyond a somewhat greater amount of spatial awareness he really is just like any other child. The thought that there are millions out there who consider my nephew some inhuman monster for simply being born, is a disgusting and unacceptable bigotry that we should have moved beyond by now.

However, while we must do everything in our power to protect Newtypes from discrimination, let us not forget that hate is not simply born without some amount of reason. There have been recorded instances of Newtypes who do exhibit these Superhuman traits. Geniuses, athletic prodigies, masters of their craft; much of their success can be found through their Newtype abilities and against these it will be extremely difficult for Oldtypes to compete. Now I will never support the creation of any law that would restrict the Newtypes as second class citizens, for such a thing is a gross violation of civil rights and would only pull us back in time to the dark ages of Anno Domini. While those Newtypes with extraordinary powers are at no fault for what they were gifted with, we must acknowledge that there is an inherent skill gap that has to be addressed. If we do not take any action on this now, then a deep social rift will form that will scar our society forever."

Unlike his previous economic statements, Rumsfeld managed to gain a wide amount of support from the audience with standing ovation. Even the most pro-Zabi members had to agree with his sound logic and reason. This worried Sasro somewhat as his stance was mostly among the same as Rumsfeld in practicality, however the Zabi stance was more geared along towards the wonders of Newtypes and their immense potential within society. Here Rumsfeld seemed to take a moderate stance that would appeal to many Oldtypes.

For the next twenty minutes the two candidates battled evenly over the stance of Newtypes. Rumsfeld would call for regulation in the form of official civil rights legislation and the creation of Newtype agencies to ensure equal and fair competition in the economy, while Sasro focused on the continuation and expansion of Newtype research programs and the potential careers and uses of Newtypes. Both candidates made points and it was hard for one to openly repute the other. During this round Rumsfeld seemed to gain back the respect of the audience and composed himself with calm logic. It was here that his experience in law and the numerous civil rights issues with Newtypes that he had a slight edge over Sasro, though the Zabi never once faltered nor showed a sign of weakness.

Eventually the two candidates began to drift into augmentations and the similar fear of the new technology that was comparable to Newtypes, though this new topic did nothing but create a stale and equal ground.

For the next two rounds the topics seemed to delve into a variety of social issues that were centerfold in Side 3. Education, welfare, income equality, public health, infrastructure, anything was open to discussion. While Rumsfeld did manage to bounce back from his opening poor performance, he couldn't quite managed to overcome Sasro and force the Zabi to falter in his arguments. Those who personally knew Sasro could tell subtle signs of agitation and anger here and there, fortunately Degwin's second son kept his cool and converted his energy into overcoming Rumsfeld and dissecting the flaws of his agenda. Eventually with this stalemate the eventual dirty attacks resumed. Rumsfeld tried to flaunt Sasro as a yesman for his father and older brother, saying there wouldn't be an original idea coming from his time in office and by electing him there would be nothing but a continued era of Zabi hegemony. Sasro countered with his numerous accomplishments within the party and how he had even helped pass various pieces of legislation. When attacks were made on the Zabis wealth, Sasro hit back with Rumsfeld's own arguments with his high costs for individual cases and how the man liked to spend in excess, while the Zabis would regularly donate hundreds of millions to multiple charities across the Side.

Soon the debate was nearing its end, though there was one final topic left to cover.

"Now we enter our final round. To end off the night we shall discuss an ongoing controversy that has caused some amount of divide within the SDSP and protests to break out against the Principality, I am of course referring to the ongoing armament and militarization of Zeon.

Since the end of the Unification Wars in 0022 the Earth sphere has been in an official state of peace. Despite this one of the first acts of the Zabi administration was the National Security Act, distributing a whopping 760 billion in 0069 alone. This has caused many within the Side to denounce the Principality for aggressive warmongering and reckless spending, some saying that it is going against the will of Zeon Deikun. Attorney Rumsfeld you have brought up the issue of our military expenditure a number of times in the first round, would you mind going into exact detail just whether or not this is the correct course for Zeon?"

Rumsfeld openly smiled at being the first to speak, seeing this as his opportunity to finish with a bang and possibly secure the debate. "Ladies and Gentlemen, out of the Zabi's fiscal policy this militarization is by and large the worst offender of the budget. The average taxpayer is forced to spend thousands of dollars in order to create weapons of war, when we are in a time of PEACE! The Defense Force, if you can even call it that these days, is forcing millions of young men and women into uniform to become soldiers whose only loyalty is to the state. We do not live in the Cold War, we are not in the violent age of the World Wars, just why exactly do we need to waste hundreds of billions of credits just so the Army and Space Force has fancy new toys. Who are we fighting Sasro?!" Rumsfeld concluded. His statement brought about a light response from the audience, however what was most important is that there weren't many openly against him. Most of the people in attendance unsure themselves of who they were going to fight.

Up in the stands Degwin and Gihren looked on in tight anticipation. Both men knew exactly why the Armed Forces needed to modernize and expand, they both knew about the future war with the Federation that was on the rise. While most of Zeon was very much anti-Federation, it was a different thing altogether to enter into all out war together. Had this debate taken place a few years later than maybe the crowd would be all open for action. However, Gihren himself knew that Zeon was not mentally ready for the fires of war yet. Deikun himself was a pacifist after all and sought to stand against the Federation with pen and paper. _'And look at how he ended. It is only through force and action that we may obtain true independence. This time we must win, or all will be lost.'_ Thought Gihren melancholically.

Down on the stage Sasro took a few moments to gather his thoughts. He knew he needed to word this correctly in order to subtly gather the people of Zeon to action yet not openly call for conflict with the Federation. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"It is true that officially we are in a time of peace. However, it is now more than ever that Zeon is at its most vulnerable! In the past year alone Side Three has experienced a total of thirty-seven terrorist attacks across the Side. These are caused by numerous groups ranging from Geocentritcs, Anarchists, Oldtype Supremacists, and more who seek to tear down the Principality and destroy everything that Zeon stands for. While our response has been efficient and the terrorists brought to justice, dozens were injured and many innocent victims lost their lives those fateful days. Piracy is running rampant across the Earth sphere where Zeon commercial ships come under assault, their cargo siezed in its entirely and sold in black markets in the Earth and the other Sides. And let us not forget our darkest hour in the Jimbajacking, when Jimba Ral, a man once regarded as Deikun's trusted ally and a true public servant; assaulted the capitol and killed dozens of his fellow representatives and state employees all for his delusional conspiracies and fears of losing power. In every one of these attacks there has been one force that was absent in its entirety, THE FEDERATION!

When our commercial fleets were hijacked and destroyed the Federal Space Force kept to their bases and routine patrols, failing to respond even when they were several hundred miles within the facility. When terrorist striked the streets of Zeon, the soldiers stayed within their garrisons and looked upon us in contempt, while Federal law agencies absolutely refused to comply. Then, during the our of our greatest need, when the capitol itself was under attack and Side 3 in its greatest crisis, the Zum City garrison did not mobilize until AFTER my brothers took Jimba Ral into custody. Instead of protecting their citizens that they swore a duty to, the corrupt leadership and enlisted of the Federal Army and Space Force have done nothing but abuse their powers and treat us Spacenoids as nothing more than nuisances. In every peaceful protest the Federal Forces have mobilized with swift efficiency in order to break up crowds with brutal force. Causing hundreds of casualties against citizens who are only using their right to peaceful protest. Despite the fact that the Federal Forces number 140 million strong, not a single soldier will dare fight to defend the colonies. With only an armed force as corrupt and decadent as these so-called soldiers, it is cleared that Zeon needs brave warriors who will take up the call and defend our home from all threats within and without. Those hundreds of billions in funding go towards the creation of a modern and elite force which shall defend our freedoms at all costs from any who seek to take them away. When we are unable to rely on others, it is up to us to defend our way of life. The Principality does not seek war and conquest, all we ask is that we live in peace with our values respected. If not, then we will defend our freedom and liberties at all costs. For victory is the only path of the Spacenoid. Sieg Zeon!"

At Sasro's uplifting speech the crowd stood up and saluted, for they too had recognized the needs of force to defend their values. If Zeon were to continue to be oppressed by the tyranny of gravity, then it would only be right for them to fight back. "SIEG ZEON!"

 **A/N: Thanks for reading guys! This one was a little bit fun to write as we got to go into the mind and psyche of Sasro, someone who I have a lot of room to work with thanks to him surviving past his canon demise as well as a huge amount of writing freedom with his little screen time. With Sasro I think of him mostly as the straight man of the Zabis who is kind of the most "normal" of the group, essentially he's a mellow version of canon Gihren who is a political genius that lets his personal feelings get the best of him sometimes. We'll be seeing far more of Sasro in the future as he starts to make his own within the Principality. Next chapter is going to be another heavy political one delving into the full domestic politics and intrigue of Side 3, some hints of the greater conflict developing between the Zabi Populists and the Orthodox Contolists (diehard Deikun followers) emerging in this chapter. I promise we'll do some mobile suit and other action chapters soon, though first I need to show the Zabis rising to power and the massive butterflies that Kaiser Gihren's actions have had on the Federation.**

 **A word of thanks to Lord of Steel. Normally I reply to all reviews in PM though since this is a guest I'll address this one in the story. Overall whenever I'm writing I do try to take a necessary amount of time to ensure that each chapter is of high quality and can stand on its own. I don't think of myself as one of the best writers on the site like you guys say, though with each chapter comes a learning opportunity that I use to improve in my overall style. I think I've grown significantly since first publishing this story. I have been thinking of several different ideas for Seed, including an eventual crossover with the Gihren's Glory-verse, though the problem is Seed is very hard to write due to the vast power imbalances. Universal Century, despite the Newtypes and superweapons and special Gundam prototypes, is always grounded in reality and since the original has kept the feel of real robot. With Seed it eventually develved into a point and shoot action story where there's hardly any tension cause our heroes have the most OP suits and they can take out hundreds with no effort. Amuro while a superb pilot always put in a high amount of effort and earned all of his victories. Also the worldbuilding and lore of Seed make no sense and is just really cringy for anyone with a tiny amount of knowledge and experience with both history and geopolitics. If you like the show then good on you, there's many good aspects hidden within it, though it's really hard to sit through without any complaints for me.**

 **Whenever I read fanfiction I always like to look at the perspective of the antagonists or those who are not necessarily aligned with our heroes and completely agree with them. It doesn't mean that I'll aways root for evil, but it's fun to see different points of view towards what is supposed to be the "true" story and dissect the greater world for what consequences our protagonist's actions had and if they are necessarily fighting for the right side. UC is plenty grey and there's tons of potential for anyone to make a story either on the Federation or Zeon's side. As for writing stories from the perspective of Gundam antagonists, it depends. I'm more than willing to do something from the New UNE as they are essentially a slightly more competent Federation. I most definitely would like to eventually write a story from the perspective of Union pilots in 00 as I loathe Celestial Being for being an organization of hypocritical terrorists. Gjallarhorn has plenty of potential for SI or OC perspective stories. I kind of want to do something with the Alliance, though the hard part is that instead of the moral ambiguity of UC, the writers of Seed went with trying to make it as black and white as possible with our perfect protagonists going against mustache-twirling, puppy kicking, child slaughtering villains. Blue Cosmos and Logos are literally nothing but a bunch of racist, old, rich, white men. How fucking more cliché can you get than that? Though the issue of Coordination is far more gray and scary than the fandom makes it out to be and I would be willing to play with that. I do have a current ongoing story from the perspective of OZ if you are interested. It's called "Fall of the Lighting Count", an AU story where one soldier makes a stand against Zechs' madness. Hope you guys check it out.**

 **Finally guys I just want to say thank you so much for 100 favorites on the site. Gihren's Glory is rapidly growing to becoming one of the most popular UC fics and is currently the third highest on Fanfiction. It makes me so proud to see so many people all across the world taking the time to read my work and enjoying it. Thank you so much! I'll try to get an update within the next month and move the story moving forward. Rest assured when the semester ends I'll do my best to make somewhat regular updates. Thank for reading and stay tuned for more. Sieg Zeon!**


	33. Intermission: Main Battle Tank Magella

**A/N: For those of you who read the initial post, I don't know what the hell happened but the Doc Manager somehow screwed that one up immensely. Here is the edited version with the correct story.**

 **(Original Author's Notes), Hello everyone, before this chapter begins I'd like to take the time to explain what makes this so different from the other regular chapters. While this is technically a part of Gihren's Glory and the characters used here will become involved later on, it wasn't written by me. This chapter was written by a good friend of mine going by the name of Remitonov on Alternatehistory (They have an account on here but don't actively write on Fanfiction). I've worked on Remitonov's stories before and in return Remi wanted to contribute something to Gihren's Glory. All of the OC's here belong to Remitonov and they are based off of characters from the anime Schwarzesmarken. The events that occur here are more or less something in the eventual story that I've wanted to cover with Zeon's weapons such as its planes, tanks, powersuits, and spaceships. Also just in case you are confused the first section is what took place with the OC's in canon Gundam after 0083, and the rest of it takes place within the Gihren's Glory-verse. The Magella Zwei here is based off of the Merkava that is used by the Israeli Defense Force. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and rest assured that Gihren's Glory is still on schedule with myself actively working on the update. Thanks for reading, Sieg Zeon!**

 **Unknown Location, Southeast Asia, Earth Federation**

 **Earth**

 **U.C. 0085 (Canon Timeline)**

0085 of the Universal Century, six years after the One Year War. Little had changed since the defeat of the Principality of Zeon at the hands of the Earth Federation, and the defanged Republic that took its place had little to no means to rein in on the remnants that continue to fight what was becoming an unwinnable war. Six years of vain fighting, six years bleeding for dead Zabis and dead Deikuns. Six years trying desperately to exploit fissures in the Earth Federation in vain, from the zealots of the South Seas Alliance to the grand gesture of Aiguille Delaz and his fanatics. The last was probably the worst sign of waning fortunes, even with the colony drop devastating the American Midwest. Rather than heralding a new uprising against Earthnoid oppression, it heralded a new wave of repression unseen even in the immediate end of the war. That repression came in the Titans, churning out grim mockeries of our proud Mobile Suits to root us out. I almost felt like giving up, to be honest. Nothing I do had any meaning now.

"Pity," mocked a young woman with dark, messy hair, dressed in an ink-black Feddie normal suit, leaning over my broken body in my Gouf cockpit, "I was going to take you back alive. Such a pretty face and mind is too good to waste~. Well, at least your men will get to see you one last time before they join you. I'll make it so."

Ulrika, the one woman I came to spite most of all. One of Zeon's best and brightest, she sold her soul to the Feds for the sole aim of spiting me and my unit. Too much had happened between us. Too much had pulled us apart. I was never a fan of the Zabis and their Spacenoid supremacism. But her? She _loathed_ Zeon. There did not seem to be a day where she did not remind herself how much her homeland had made her life hell.

As for me, I was already dead, ganged up upon by a mob of Zaku knockoffs that was as every bit a walking taunt as it was a death machine. Ulrika's dark blue Gundam, a gift from her Earthnoid masters, encapsulates the face of the Titans. Gone was every little mercy the Feds were willing to afford to us. From here on out, there was only mutual annihilation.

Twisting the strip of wrought titanium lodged into my limp body, the green-eyed whore seemed eager to call out my bluff. For a moment, she seemed almost desperate, as if willing her former friend to wince in pain so she could prolong it however she wanted. When she saw no reaction from my drained, frozen face, she finally relented, a hint of disgust, maybe even guilt on her face. It was hard to tell. Did she really hate me, or did she have a shred of decency left? Whichever was the case, she hid her emotions pretty well, shifting back to her usual, aloof expression as she stepped out of the cockpit. Their mission was done here, and the remnants hiding out in the area weeded out like rats. Make no mistake, there are always more. But for Ulrika Löwe, there was at least one target off her list. Perhaps a little too quickly, but it was probably my final insult to her.

Captain Arnhild Weiss, CO of the Zeon Mobile Assault Force's 666th MS Squadron, had escaped capture one last time.

 **Weiss Residence**

 **Zum City, Side 3, Principality of Zeon**

 **February 27th, U.C. 0070 (TTL)**

"I don't think there's anything to worry about."

Morning in Side 3, well if you could tell from the cylinders. With no way to see the Earth from Side 3 and unaligned from its daily rotations, timekeeping had to be placed in the hands of electronics, whether it was the humble home clock or the shifting lighting of the cylinder's weather control. Peering into my eyes, a young blonde man tried to keep an assuring smile for me. But I could tell he was concerned. This was not the first time I had complained about this.

"It's just a dream, Arnhild," Arno Weiss, my brother, assured me, "nothing more. No one's going to hurt you, much less Ulrika. You probably read too many books. Dreams have a way of detaching from reality. Don't worry about it."

"Ah," was my sole response. Perhaps it was better not to have told him. No matter how stupid or implausible my nightmares seemed, it was not hard to see a pattern in them, and how disturbingly vivid they were becoming. Worse still was my description of them. While I doubted it had anything to do with ESP or whatever hocus pocus was affecting me, there was an ominous basis for my dreams.

"You don't sound convinced," Arno admitted to me, quite worried about my sceptical tone. Bowing my head, answered, "well... you are working in R&D for the Zeon military. Maybe there are things there that I'm seeing?"

"You're not wrong," he said, "but I can't tell you, either way. These things are top secret. I think it's best to just forget about them. If you start believing them to be real, well... how would Ulrika think?"

Hearing his mumblings, I could not help but pout. Was he worried about me, or was he worried my strange nightmares might ruin his relationship with Ulrika? Painting her as a turncoat for the Feds was no laughing matter. Her father was part of Kycillia's state security police. Besides which, looking down at my underdeveloped body, we were clearly a few years away from any such nightmare becoming a reality. Maybe things would turn out differently. It was probably best to distrust dreams as figments of the imagination than to harp on them.

"Sorry," I apologized, "it was just..."

Patting my head, my brother assured me again, "it's ok. Just put it behind you."

I honestly could not, even if I tried. At first, I did forget about it, but then the dreams keep coming back, sometimes with growing regularity. Initially, they were just faint flashes, incoherent and forgettable. But this one was different. It played like a memory, almost like a foreshadowing.

I really did not want to see Ulrika as an enemy.

"Anyway," he said, looking at his watch, "almost time to head for work. You take care now, Arnhild. Sure you don't need a ride to school?"

"I'm fine, brother," I answered, "you take care now."

As he got to his feet to adjust his uniform, I hid my apprehension with a smile. In the end, I had to admit I had no proof or reason for the nightmares. Maybe it was all just my imagination. Watching his departure from the window, I waved goodbye as I prepared to depart the house as well. In the end, I should really try not to think of them, or Ulrika might think I am going mad.

Perhaps they really were just dreams. Perhaps I was hoping they would be, or else...

 **Zeon Defence Force HQ**

 **Zum City, Side 3, Principality of Zeon**

 **U.C. 0070 (TTL)**

There are many things my brother worked on that he was not allowed to tell me. Dark things, but at the same time, necessary. His work in the R&D department covered more than just the weapons that would win against the Federation's formidable space fleets. They would be the weapons that would win Zeon and its sister sides their freedom. One of them - and one I was not proud to find out on the sly - was the Magella Tank. Designed for paratrooper operations and meant as a counterpart for the Federation's Type 61 tank, the Magella Eins was a suitable, but thinly protected machine. To accommodate for drop operations meant reducing its armour, and this made the tank vulnerable to most infantry anti-tank weapons. But for my brother, the Magella's development was beginning to take a turn for the worst, and for no feasible reason.

"Behold, fellow patriots," declared an officer sporting a pair of gaudy spectacles, slapping his hand on the projector screen as the other commanders observed the developments, "the next stage in armoured fighting vehicle technology! Armed with a powerful 175mm cannon, the HT-10B Magella would stand toe to toe against even the most ironclad of Federation armour! Its triple 35mm cannon would shred any infantry or fortification with ease! And that's not all! Observe the intricately designed canopy. Looks almost like a plane, doesn't it? That's because it is, a powerful fighter capable of taking to the skies in the heat of battle, encouraging crews to carry on the bitter fight for our brave Spacenoid cause. Well, if we ever come to war, that is. Any objections? Questions?"

Not surprisingly, most of the officers present appeared enthralled by the pitch, nodding their heads in agreement to each other like parrots in a roost. But there was one man who did not agree, raising his hand in defiance. In fact, he was not just unimpressed. He was annoyed.

"Ah yes, questions, mh," Arno spoke to the commander, unable to suppress a snide tone, "tell me, is that gun supposed to shoot while the plane is on the move?"

Scoffing, the chuckling presenter declared, "what? Why, of course, it should? Why wouldn't it?"

"Ok," Arno probed, "then what is the recoil in the machine then?"

"Recoil," snarled the presenter again, "weren't you taking notes earlier, boy? The chassis is designed to absorb the recoil of the gun. Every step is taken to reduce it to a bare minimum-"

"A bare minimum," Arno retort, " _in mid-air._ "

This was not a hard argument for my brother. For the Spacenoids who had never had much experience in ground warfare, the Magella seemed, in theory, a powerful machine. But there was a difference between a Weiss and other Spacenoids. We had spent much of our lives on Earth, and much as he hated to admit it, he had experience in the Earth Federation Forces, both as an engineer and a tank commander.

"Captain Horst," Arno sneered defiantly, almost gloating at his own intellect, "do you know what Newton's Third Law of Motion is? 'For every force in action on an object, there is an equal and opposite _reaction_ to that force'. A plane's design is fundamentally different compared to a tank, it must handle the recoil of its gun or it _will spiral out of the sky_. And a tank gun on a plane is akin to a pigeon trying to fire a cannon. What do you think would happen? And that isn't accounting for the weight of the gun itself. It is heavy because the alloy needed to build the gun must be able to withstand the extreme pressures and shear forces from propelling the round. And that's just the gun. Limited gun traverse? Multiple turrets? A _fucking glass canopy for infantry to shoot at_? This is a work of a _clown_! Are you trying to get our crews killed in that thing?"

The rant, unsurprisingly, had left the presenter red-faced. It seemed offhand, but my brother had reason to feel offence. This was an insult to sound engineering, and sound tank design. If anything, he has a thing for armoured vehicles in general. The Magella Eins was an adequate weapon for him. This... was not.

"You have a better solution, Lieutenant," growled the presenter, as the other commanders whispered among themselves.

Waving his file in front of the lad, Arno seemed eager to present his own work. Stepping forward, he declared, "keep the Magella Eins, and work from there. Better yet, build a heavier variant of the Eins. We always needed a main battle tank to fight the Type 61, so why not learn from it?"

"This," he proposed, presenting the drafts to his superiors, "is the Magella Zwei, a heavier counterpart to the Eins and one that could hold its own against the Type 61. Nothing groundbreaking, I admit. With simple Lunar Titanium protection, a 175mm cannon and a 35mm co-axial gun, it's pretty standard armaments. But rather than waste money and effort building a plane into a tank, why not just build escape hatches. One thing I've learned at the Earth Federation Ground Forces Academy is that no tactic that is truly obsolete. I've looked up on old CE tank designs and strangely, little had changed with regards to the Federation's Type 61 compared to pre-UC models. Why force ourselves to put so many ridiculous features in what's supposed to be a mobile fortress? If you want a crew escape, then don't make it so obvious for the enemy to aim at the plane-like turret."

His logic was sound, that much I know of him as a sister, but Arno was, if anything, arrogant. Almost Earthnoid-like, from what I heard from my friends. His reason for settling in Munzo was the lack of respect given to him by his former superiors in the Earth Federation, his work cast aside as redundant by the choking bureaucracy of Earth. Here in Munzo, his behaviour was beginning to yield a similar reaction, but for the exact opposite reason. There were times when I worry he might offend the wrong people. This may just be one of them.

"So you think you're hot stuff, do you, Earth boy," growled the presenter, attracting Arno's condescending gaze, "just because you had the privilege to work for the Federation military. Don't forget that you're here by the good graces of the Zabi family. I would trust you not to overstep your authority."

Narrowing his eyes in spite, Arno declared defiantly, "and I would trust my superiors not to get our soldiers killed in death traps that can be ripped apart by small arms fire, but I suppose that's too much to ask. How, in the world, do you think this is a good idea? I can bet that plane could barely stay afloat for a few seconds before crashing; if it isn't already blasted apart! If you feel you do not want to listen, I don't care! I already made my word clear. It's up to you."

My brother could probably tell he was not welcome. The commanders were confused, if not suspicious of him, and he had once again offended a higher officer with his sharp wit. As he departed, he could probably sense the malice oozing from the presenter for his critique. Had I known what he did then, I might have dreaded for his future.

Pacing out, his previous arrogance had given way to a sense of dread. He seemed quite resigned to his proposal being discarded. After all, it was what cost him his career with the Earth Federation military. He had assumed, perhaps with reason, that Zeon would be a fairer place for him. He was ready to believe that he had been proven wrong again, however. Some things did not seem to change at all.

At least, until he came.

"Lieutenant Weiss, is it," a deep voice cut in on him as he passed the corridor. Looking back, his heart stopped as he recognized the stern scowl of the Prime Minister. Fumbling a salute, his previous bravado melted away as he stammered, "Lord Gihren, what a surprise. Is there anything I can help you?"

Watching him step forward, the towering right hand of Degwin brought forward a hand, asking for the file, "mind if I take a look at it?"

"Ah, sure," he blurted, handing over the documents. While Arno had a well-known contempt for authority, even he knew better than to offend a Zabi, now the uncontested rulers of Side 3.

"This Magella Zwei," Gihren spoke, "it's a lot different from what Captain Horst proposed to me this morning."

"Oh, yes," he stammered, "I... designed it myself. It's pretty plain. I wouldn't think to stick a plane with a tank gun on a chassis. I... didn't see a need to."

For a moment, the prime minister actually smiled. It did not appear to be malice or conceit. Rather, it looked a lot more like relief. Keeping the file on his arm, the PM said, "well, you don't mind if I hold on to these, don't you? You just saved me some valuable time."

Arno could not believe what he was hearing. Was the prime minister going to intercede for him? Was he really going to push for his blueprints on his behalf? Did he overhear his outburst and decided to find out the fuss? Arno might never know the answer. Gasping for a response, he forced his words out, "sure! I mean, it'll be an honour, Prime Minister. I mean, I have a spare, I uhh..."

Chuckling a bit at the nervous young man, he concluded, "it's fine. I'll pass the word to Dozle. We could use your expertise in future. Don't disappoint us, Lieutenant."

Arno could not have been luckier. With just one word from Gihren, and the Magella Zwei would be put into production. Out was the gaudy plane canopy that would be the death of many tank crews. The Zwei was, by any standard, a normal battle tank. But sometimes, normality was enough as it is.

But I fear he might have made more enemies than he could deal with, not the least the designer he had ousted as the mind behind the new Magella. Gihren's favour may be a valuable asset for my brother, but it too carried dangers, a magnet for envy that could prove his undoing.

I only hope he is alright.


	34. Changing of the Guard

**March 28th, 0070. Zum City, Side 3. Principality of Zeon. Gihren Zabi POV**

"And then right as he was about to finish placing the presents, Kycillia sneaks up behind and wacks him straight in the head. By the time we had all gathered in the living room father was knocked out cold and wrapped in rope while our dear sister stood triumphant at "defending our house" from the intruder. Thankfully a trip to the hospital showed it was just a light concussion, but it kind of killed the mood for the rest of the day. And that, ladies and gentleman, is how Garma was scarred on Christmas."

Cecilia bursted out laughing and was rolling in her seat, a few tears forming in her eyes from the story. "I can't believe I never heard of this before. It's just to hard to believe, Kycillia almost killing Santa Claus, I'd pay anything to see that happen." She said, taking a few seconds to calm herself.

The tale I just told her was something that happened years ago during Garma's fourth Christmas, an event that was one of the few fond memories of the Zabi family before my insertion. That year Garma had learned about Santa Claus for the first time and he had wanted to see if the fat man would visit him and bring presents. At this point in time while Christmas was still unfortunately commercialized to a heavy extent, and Santa Claus was a known figure associated with the holiday, most kids barely believed at all of Santa's existence after discovering the truth of the myth either from their parents, friends, or from their own curiosity. No one simply cared to go through the whole motions of an elaborate charade and Santa was one of the few holiday figures who even survived in any notoriety, the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy completely fading into obscurity.

Kycillia of course had tried to tell Garma that Santa wasn't real, but Degwin thought that he should maybe attempt to make the holiday special for Garma, leading him to dress up as Santa and pretend to sneak into the living room and put presents under the tree while Garma would sleep on the couch, hopefully having him wake up and see "Santa" in action. Unfortunately for Degwin while he had told his eldest sons, he forgot to inform Kycillia. And when Kycillia had woken up to see a fat man in a suit carrying a heavy sack, roaming around the house, she presumed the worst and that the house was being robbed, grabbing a baseball bat of Dozle's and smacking Degwin, right when he woke Garma up.

Degwin was mad at his only daughter for a few days but he decided to let it go and the "Santa Assault" became a fun family story which we would always annoy Kycillia with around the holidays. Unfortunately for Garma it utterly ruined his brief belief in Santa Claus and he was never able to fully get into the spirit of again.

"At least no one in my family attempted to burn down the house." I retorted playfully.

Cecilia frowned at that, "I was only six and I was trying to do a good thing by baking my parents a cake."

"Does your definition of a burnt cake include calling the fire department and having to explain to your family why you need an oven replacement." I said. Cecilia stuck her tongue out and response and then we both shared a light laugh at the playful banter.

For the past couple of months I had started having lunch with Cecilia at least once during the week. After she had comforted me over my guilt over having caused the death of Kamaria Ray, this schedule escalated slightly and now became twice or three times a week.

These lunch breaks overall where a relaxing affair, an hour of time where I could get away from the stress of both the office of Prime Minister and the never ending responsibility of correcting the Universal Century. I could just be myself, a temporary slip in this lifetime masquerade as Gihren Zabi that I had to perform until the day I die (hopefully my second time is better than the first). Cecilia was someone that I trusted fully, she was always honest and never afraid to speak the truth and step forward if it meant defying me, even if my stubborness refused to let me see the better outcome. For the past year she had come along way from a mere secretary to one of my most valued companions. She was a great friend, she was...

 _'No, don't think about that, you can't force outcomes that don't need to happen.'_ I mentally berated myself.

It was a conundrum that I had been facing since I met Cecilia, mainly what the end goal of our relationship is supposed to be. She was Gihren's lover in canon, though it was a relationship born not out of love, but of manipulation and control by Gihren that warped Cecilia from this kind soul to an iron heart who was literally Space Eva Braun. God knows what kind of hell she went through after the end of the war thanks to her relationship with Gihren, then there's the amount of potential danger that she is already putting herself through thanks to being my Chief of Staff. Shouldn't she deserve a happy life, to not become entangled on my personal crusade that may bring the Earth sphere to ruin? To be with another man, a better man?

 _'I could've stopped this by simply refusing her, but we jumped that hurdle long ago and there's no turning back the clock. It's best to just let her live her life.'_

"Gihren, are you okay? You seem down." Cecilia said, breaking my stupor. I looked towards Cecilia whose face turned a 180 from before, herself looking very concerned for my current mental state.  
 _  
'If only you knew.'_

"Oh it's nothing, I was just thinking of this upcoming schism that we're about to head to within the hour. It's been weighing heavily on my mind within these past few days." I said. It was an overall shitty excuse, but with nothing otherwise substantial going within my personal or political life, it was the most logical reason.

Accepting the answer, Cecilia leaned back in her chair and took another sip of green tea that she had at her side in a thermos. "I don't know why you would freak out so much about that. You did manage to have your family become royalty months ago with a massive landslide, this should be nothing but a walk in the park for someone of your genius." She said.

I smiled at the compliment, "In terms of scope you are right, though the two situations are fundamentally different. With the Principality the outcome was laid out the minute we submitted our monarchy proposal to the Federal Assembly. Father was already a massively popular public servant who only Zeon eclipsed in terms of charisma and accomplishments. Much of the Zeon miracle can be directly attributed to father's multiple victories within parliament and the plethora of reforms he passed, to say nothing of the accomplishments of my siblings and I."

"You're quite the humble man, _Lord_ Gihren." Cecilia teased.

I simply rolled my eyes, then continued, "Father had the status, support, and accomplishments under his belt to achieve absolute domination over the political sphere of Side 3. Jimba's political suicide along with the loss of so many of the core guard ensured that he would be the leader that Zeon gravitated to. The true purpose of all our efforts during the campaign was not so much to win, but rather to stretch that margin of victory into such an enormous scale that the rest of the Earth sphere would have to accept that this was the _mandate_ of the people of Zeon. While creating a new political party based around our ideals won't be too hard, the opposition really only affecting how sizable the majority is along with long-term membership of the "Zabi Coalition", the real challenge shall be the second phase of this grand plan once we've established the Sovereign Front as Zeon's new political reality, getting the other Sides to see our way and join us in the revolution.

Hatte and Riah understand that our route is the preferred way of success, however the radical nature of Spacenoid Populism scares the political establishment of Sides 2 and 6 and threatens their monopoly over the administration, not to mention the potential backlash from Earth they currently can't face on their own. After all why rock the boat and go for prosperity on a gamble when you can continue to safely live in the ignorant bliss of mediocrity? Loum is getting fractured to the core and even the those who take pride in being Spacenoids can't agree on what kind of an identity to take. Zahn has been and shall always be Earth's lapdogs. And Moore can't do a damn thing with the "Model Colonies" breathing down their necks. God only knows which way the Lunarians will shift towards.

I have faith that this plan can work but even the most minuscule of failure will have severe repercussions. By the time this revolution is completed we'll have either united the colonies together into a grand coalition that will force Earth to accede to our demands, our we'll become more isolated then ever before and will have to take...drastic measures for independence. The Principality is a shining beacon but from day one it has been a controlled experiment. Once we involve the other Sides everything will be out of our hands and I'll only have my faith in God that everything can turn our all right. Without the other colonies any victory will be worthless. After all..."

"United We Stand, Divided We Fall." Cecilia said, putting her tea down on the desk.

"You actually took the words right out of my mouth. How'd you know?" I asked.

"Well my family is mostly of American descent so I am somewhat aware of the history. Besides with your constant usage of references whenever you speak, I've come to learn a lot about history and science fiction over the past year."

I laughed with a slight amount of bashful shame at what had perfectly described my character. Both in this life and the last I had been and will always be a nerd. "I do understand what your saying. Rome wasn't build in a day and it will take far longer to free Spacenoids from the _tyranny of Earth's gravity._ " Cecilia says, the last part of the sentence being a slight mocking of how the Zabi dynasty, and before Zeon Deikun, made gravity itself out to be a great oppressor of the colonies. It was something that Terran media constantly mocked, one of their few legitimate points as even I found the concept of gravity as a great evil to be an utterly ridiculous motion both when I was watching the show in my previous life and living in this one. To be fair I might've been more against such ludicrous nonsense considering most of my life I lived on Earth and by extension my soul is Terran, being one of those poor victims who had their souls weighed down according to the propaganda I spout on a regular basis. Still it was a popular phrase on Zeon that was one of Deikun's oral strategies. If demonizing the concept of gravity gained us support, then I would continue shouting the great evils of Sir Isaac Newton for years to come.

The thought of Deikun then got me to turn my attention to a topic I've been wanting to bring up with Cecilia for quite a while. "Cecilia, do you mind if I ask you a personal question."

"Sure."

"Could you give me your honest opinion of Zeon Zum Deikun?"

"Why would you want to know that?" Cecilia asked, her head tilted slightly in confusion of a request that while not quite bizarre, seemed to come out of nowhere.

"It's just that it's been a year and a half since his death, and while Zeon's ashes are spread across the stars his legacy, for better or worse, will leave an enormous mark for years, if not decades to come, shaping the entire destiny of the Universal Century just from his actions alone. Our nation's named after him, every law that we pass is in honor of his name, it's just something that's always bewildered yet amazed me, how one man can have such a great impact, something that father and I could never hope to come close to. I just wanted an honest opinion from an outside source." I said.

Cecilia seemed to think in heavy contemplation after hearing that, after what seemed to be about a minute of silence she came up with a response, "Most of the time I would come up with the politically correct answer, that Zeon Deikun was a brilliant visionary who was one of a kind and a man whose absence is a national tragedy to Side 3. However if I'm being honest, I simply think he was the wrong man at the right time."

"Really?" I say, a little bit shocked of what Cecilia had just said, something that would be considered scandalous to the normal citizen of Side 3.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that Zeon was able to take charge and that he did so much just to get us where we are today. He was my hero and in many ways I still admire him. However after watching the rise of the Zabi dynasty, and working with you has shown me that Deikun simply wasn't what we needed. Sure he was a great dreamer, the man who saw Newtype possibility before it became a proven scientific fact, however that's all Zeon just was, a dreamer. Most of his career he used his public office to spread the reach of Contolism and bring awareness to the development of Newtypes. While of course he was active in domestic policy, the laws were just a means to an end to get Deikun to his promised land, to create the Newtype ideal into a reality. It was thanks to Deikun's charisma, and the fact that he was the only person who sought something different from the conformity of the Earth, that so many followed him and made his leadership successful. But you Gihren, you're different.

You might also be a dreamer Gihren, but not only is your scope grander but it is also far clearer. You have plans years in advanced for every minor detail concering Zeon and you know exactly how to make that ideal become a reality, instead of just wishing for some utopia to come true. You've seen a future that no one thought possible and thanks to your reforms the impossible is becoming a reality and we're all living better lives. It's the Zabi dynasty that our citizens have to thank, not Deikun. And I'm glad to be helping you achieve this dream, no matter how minor my part is."

I couldn't help but stare at Cecilia with a mixture of admiration and gratitude for her kind words of support. Never in either of my lives could I say that I had someone who had so much faith in me, that they believed in my vision and would support my path every step of the way.

'Damn you Gihren, damn you to hell for corrupting such an honest and pure soul!'

Cecilia and I both stared at each other silently after that, I don't know how long passed before I began to speak again, "Cecilia, I..."

"Ahem!" The quiet moment was interrupted by a new presence in the room, I turned towards the door, questioning why my Gaurds didn't notify an intrusion, only to see Sasro standing in the door, carrying a nuetral expression on his face.

Slightly emberassed, Cecilia got up and bowed slightly, "Lord Sasro." She said curtiously.

"Miss Irene. I came to pick up my brother for our meeting with the party leaders. The "Contolists" are on their way to meet with father and as such we should begin now." Sasro said.

Processing the information I remembered what we were suppossed to do today, how we would tear down the old party and lay the groundwork for a social and political revolution among the Sides. While I didn't forget that we had a meeting today, I was under the impression that we had at least an hour left.

I stood up in reaction and started gathering trash to throw in the waste bin, "Cecilia, be sure to ready the press corps and try to have a conference set up by 5, that should give us some time for an immediate live reaction. Also contact the entirety of the MP's that have been aware of our plan, swift and unanimous reaction is key in containing this splinter." I said with authority.

"Yes Lord Gihren!" She said affirmatively, turning towards the door while lowering her head briefly in submission to Sasro before leaving the room. Sasro closed the door and started at me intently with eyes that were filled with disapproval.

"You shouldn't really engage in these kinds of affairs you know."

"What?" I asked, though I had a strong feeling what he was talking about.

"Engaging in close and personal activities with members of the opposite sex, people can talk about this if they were aware."

"Please," I said, rolling my eyes, "I was having a civil lunch with an important member of my staff as I have done similar activities in the past with several of my employees. Besides with a good number of the government it's engaging in activities with people of the same sex that would get others suspicious. No one's going to believe lies based without evidence."

"Sex scandals however carry far more weight and are more easily lead based off of simple word of mouth."

I clenched my fists and gave Sasro a dirty look, unbelieving of what I was hearing, "I am not Bill Clinton!"

"Who the hell is Bill Clinton?" Sasro demanded. Mentally I did a facepalm upon remembering that Bill Clinton never became President due to Bush winning WWIII and remained the Governor of Arkansas, later serving a couple of terms as Senator.

"A politician who had a sex scandal." I said nonchalantly, a technical half-truth as that description fit him in my previous life, yet here it was an outright lie with Bill never having any major scandals in this timeline and I'm pretty sure that him and Hillary divorced sometime in the 2000's. Hillary never even came close to being a presidential candidate without her national fame from her time as first lady.

Sasro opens his mouth as if to ask further, but closes it and shakes his head before speaking, "My point is that we are in a critical point for the Zabi dynasty. Our royal line has only been in existence for a few months and already half of the Earth sphere hates us with the Terran media trying to create a scandal from even the most minuscule of mishaps that we do. We do not have centuries of tradition to rely on, the Principality is merely an infant and an artificial creation based off the current environment. Any major scandal that hits the family could be the beginning of slippery slope that drives father from the throne. Appearances are everything Gihren. If the public thinks that the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince is taking advantage of one of his cabinet members..."

"I would never do such thing!" I shouted, my rise in volume most likely grabbing the attention of those outside as I heard some slight commotion from outside the office, most likely government employees trying to see if Degwin's eldest were having some sort of fight. I lowered my voice, fists clenched, "Who the hell do you think I am, some lecherous monster who preys on women?" _'Though the real Gihren might be.'_ I noted sadly.

Sasro shook his head,"I'm not saying that's what I think you are doing, I'm saying that's what the public might think that you are doing. Lesser men have lost everything on false claims, and greater men were reduced to nothing based off of real scandals. I don't want your name to get dragged through the mud thanks to disgusting lies." Sasro said, his voice actually laced somewhat with worry and actual care over my wellbeing. My mood shifted when I noticed this, that Sasro was actually trying to help me out instead of simply looking out for the family.

"I'm glad for your concern brother, but I'm no idiot when it comes to my public image. I know what I'm doing with my personal life and I would never take any rash actions that would hurt father and our siblings. All I ask is that you just trust me." I said.

Sasro looks at me intently for a few seconds then sighs, "Fine. Let's just go." I then clean up most of what Cecilia and I had left on the table, then proceeding to follow Sasro out of the door of my office, Jared and Omar flanking us along with Saro's other guards. We passed through the collection of offices that were linked to the Prime Minister, though not to overt I could see some of the government employees scrambling to act normally, meaning they tried to see what was happening between us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cecilia standing near one of the desks. I looked towards her and nodded slowly along with a smile on my face, signalling that everything was alright. This seemed to calm Cecilia who relaxed her stance and walked away, carrying about her duties for the day.

For the first minute of our travels Sasro and I were silent, unaware of how to continue forward. As we were walking my eyes drifted towards our surroundings as I took in the key details of the capitol in detail. This would be one of my last days in here as in mid-April we would have an extended recess session for the tearing down of the capitol and the creation of the Zenith. In the few sessions that would take place during then we would meet informally at a convention hall to carry out the logistics of government until the Zenith would be completed by the end of the year. During that time I would mostly focus on helping Sasro with his election, making various rounds across Side 3 to endorse our favorite candidates, continue mobile suit development, and hopefully spend some more time with the rest of the family.

It would be Sasro who would break the ice as we traveled to our destination, "Besides any potential slandering of our image, I was also concerned back there because of the fact that any person who we spend substantial time with could be seen as the next member of the Zabi family. Whatever woman you lay your eyes on will become the mother of the future Sovereign after all."

What Sasro said was an important point due to the fact that of the Zabi dynasty, only myself and my siblings were eligible for the throne. In the crafting of the constitution with the rules set up for the royal family, we made it explicitly sure that no one related to us besides those who were descended directly from the blood of Degwin Sodo Zabi would inherit the throne, meaning all our relatives who hardly bothered to acknowledge our existence before our ascension couldn't steal the throne out of some legal bullshit. However this was very limiting as without any prior claim of nobility, that meant that there were only five heirs to the throne, and the orignal Gundam showed just how perilous that number could be as within one year the Zabis were wiped out and only Mineva was left. Meaning that my siblings and I would have to do our part and create the next generation of Zabis.

Thankfully there weren't any huge fears of a succession crisis for now as we were all young adults and had several years to marry and have children. Degwin himself had spoken to us about it in what was an intensely awkward conversation the day before the coronation. What he did was basically give us our blessing to pursue who we wanted so long as it wouldn't stain the family reputation. On the matter of children while he didn't want us to breed like rabbits, he expected us to eventually have a couple to diversify the royal line. The problem with that was none of us had any sort of personal romantic relationship in the past so we were all walking in the dark and everyone would just postpone the issue and try to think of anything but who to be with. It was something we all had to face eventually as we couldn't just rely on Garma to find love and father the next generation (we all expected him to end up with someone on the basis of at least him being the most attractive). In the very worst case scenario we had a draft to amend the royal line to make Casval and Artesia heirs after Garma, but I think we could all agree that it would be an absolute failure of the Zabi dynasty to get that desperate.

"Speaking of which" Sasro said, "I haven't brought this up with you until now because nothing concrete has really happened and father doesn't really give much of a damn, but apparently we've been getting some offers and inquiries from some of the Terran royal families." Sasro said.

"Really?" I said, raising my eyebrows with surprise at this piece of information. At this point in the Universal Century, Zeon was by far the most authoritative monarchy in existence with Degwin having massive powers granted to him by the constitution which could allow him to act independently against a hostile legislature. Combined with the powers granted to me as Prime Minister this allowed us to have a near monopoly over policy. On Earth the situation was entirely different as even with the rise of several monarchies following the collapse of Communism and Radicalism, the monarchies would slowly lose most of their executive and legislative powers over time by coercion from the Earth Federation, this being especially the case of certain nations who tried to resist such as Saudi Arabia with the House of Saud having most of its leaders imprisoned or executed and the remaining family members scattered to the wind with confiscation of property and funds during the Unification Wars (though in this case it was more well-deserved justice with absolutely no implementation of the paltry reforms that occurred in my past life).Terran monarchies were virtually powerless with little lip service to even having an important role in the state. Only a handful were active executives, yet these countries could never hope to stand against the Federation on their own.

"So which countries want to send their children off to become our future spouses?" I ask with a bit of mirth. "I thought most of the big ones hated us and called the Zabis a stain on the institution."

"They still do, at least publicly. My contacts within the media have revealed that privately they're more or less keeping an eye on our relationship status in case of any potential future openings. Probably just by sending a princess, or prince for Kycillia, on a official state trip to Zeon and forcing us to interact with them at some social event where we'll fall madly in love with their charm and looks and then after a few weeks have a fairtytale wedding. You know that Disney crap." Sasro said with a grunt. "Most of the offers though have actually been from some of the old houses that haven't had any sovereign power in centuries. Houses like Bonaparte, Hapsburg, Hohenzollern, Savoy, among others. The European ones are mostly targeted at you since not only are you the heir, but you're Catholicism makes them more confident that a traditional western princess can win your heart over someone from Asia or Africa."

"Come on, just because I'm a traditionalist it doesn't mean I'm some reactionary prude who judges attraction based off the color of someone's skin." I reply.

"Oh really, then what exactly are your preferences? Would you perhaps be into red-heads?" Sasro asked, egging me on.

"None of your own damn business and leave it at that." I said with a slight amount of irritation. Thankfully Sasro knew wisely not to egg me on further and switched to a different topic, mainly Dozle's homecoming and getting him to whip the defense industry into shape.

As we were walking down the halls of the Capitol I found myself unable to pay much attention to Sasro for the most part, for being on the topic of our potential romances turned my thoughts to a certain group of people that I had mostly neglected up til this point, our "canon" romances.

Outside of Cecilia, whose feelings I was mostly unsure of at the moment, mostly being content with our close and friendly status quo, there were three people who were considered to be lovers of the Zabis; Zenna Mia, Johnny Ridden, and Icelina Eschonbach.

Out of all of them Icelina was the one that I payed the least amount of attention to. She was living on Earth at the moment and with her father being the Governor of California and a known critic of Zeon, there was no reason to get close to the Eschonbach's until the hypothetical invasion (Liberation) of North America. With how differently events have played out she might not even be sympathetic of the Zeon cause and could come to hate Garma in the future, a situation which I could do nothing to prevent without going through enormous hurdles to obtain something of little gain. Even if they never ended up together it wasn't something I cared about too much. I was of the opinion that Icelina and Garma had started their relationship out of passion and each of them took radical steps out of more infatuation than true love due to their young age. If they got together then I wouldn't interfere too much, though Garma could certainly do better.

As for the first two, I've been keeping extensive tabs on them since my arrival, a task that wasn't too hard with them being citizens of Side 3. At the moment Zenna and Johnny were both off at the Defense Academy and and preparing to enter as officers of the Defense Force, both in their sophomore year.

Johnny was hypothetically supposed to be the easiest to gain access to since his father was a close ally of Degwin's in Parliament, but it appeared that fate was working against me as everytime I tried to have him and Kycillia meet some excuse from either side preventing such an event from occurring, not to mention that Johnny himself had almost no interest in his father's work so he hardly showed up at the capitol, not that it would matter too much as I didn't think Kycillia even noticed that Johnny existed. It was a shame since Johnny brought out the best in Kycillia and with how much she has changed since the start of my new life hopefully he could bring her further away from the cold spymaster that she could have become. At the very least with his family being close to ours and Johnny hopefully becoming a mobile suit ace in the far future, there will be several more possibilities for them to start a relationship.

Zenna was someone I also hoped would become my in-law in the far future as out of the three she did actually form a strong and healthy relationship with Dozle, their marriage being one of the more positive notes of the Zabi family and her presence probably helping Dozle go through the horrors of the One Year War. If anything else it would be nice to have Zenna become a Zabi just so that Mineva could be born here and would actually live a good life as a princess of Zeon without Haman's brainwashing and her being used as a puppet for her entire life by Neo-Zeon, not to mention her actually living happily with both of her parents alive (I'll be damned if Dozle dies a second time, Amuro is loyal to Zeon and I won't hesitate to kill Sleggar if he so much as scratches Dozle). Though even if Dozle and Zenna got together there was the question of if Mineva would even be conceived at all.

During my first months of planning I had prepared most of my strategies to not include characters who were born in 0067 or after as I had presumed that they would be erased out of existence. However I got the biggest of suprises when I learned that fucking Kamille Bidan along with his mother had defected to Zeon just a few weeks ago. It wasn't too surprising that that asshole Franklin would give up his wife and child to the Federation for self-gain, but the fact that Kamille had even been born with no noticeable physical differences was disturbing. Were the protagonists and other major characters from UC Gundam untouchable in their existence no matter what actions I took place? Was there a constant revolving around this universe with certain events and characters taking place no matter how radically I changed the plot. Would late-UC characters such as Banagher and the cast of F91 and Victory still come into existence so long as their parents were alive and got together? Hell I've got motherfucking Treize Khusrenada serving under Kycillia and I don't know how or why the fuck that happened! Does that mean that Super Robot Wars is going to be a thing?

 _'Is it morally wrong though to force two people to be together just for the sake of someone who will not exist for years to come?'_ It was a disturbing question that I would have to act upon if either Dozle or Zenna met. If they did fall in love and Mineva is born, then I swear to God I'll make sure to be the best Uncle in the world and give her the happy life that she deserves.

"Lord Gihren, Lord Sasro!" My thinking promptly ended upon hearing our names called at the end of the hall. I looked down the corridor to see a tall middle-aged blond, bearded man with tank skin and a dark black suit with a crimson tie. The main in question was an MP and a center of mine and Sasro's activities for the past several weeks, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, John "Jack" Ridden.

 _'Speaking of potential in-laws'_. I move forward and grip the Ridden patriarch's hand in a firm handshake, "Hello Jack, thank you for taking your time to organize this meeting for us. We're going to get some big work done today, and tomorrow you'll be at the center of the greatest political revolution in mankind's history."

"Always glad to be of help to the Zabi family, my Lord." Jack replied, shacking back.

"Enough of these royal titles, your a man twice my age with far greater seniority in civil service. Just call me Gihren." I say sincerely.

"Can't do that my Lord, your the Prime Minister, the voice of the people in Parliament. Besides one day Degwin's going to stop down and you'll reign for the rest of your life as Sovereign. Though if it's a royal command then I suppose I must insist." Says Jack, earning a short chuckle from me. "Lord Sasro."

"Ridden." Sasro nods in return.

Out of all of Degwin's allies I had to say that Jack Ridden was at the top in terms of not only likability but sheer efficiency. For several years he had served as a close follower of Degwin and ensured that several of his policies were implemented into action against opposition from Jimba Ral. He had a roughly easygoing manner in a similar way to Johnny and had plenty of charm and charisma to slowly attract most people from all walks of life to his point of view. With the resigning or death of most of the incumbents in the aftermath of the Jimbajacking, Jack was elevated to the position of Chairman of Foreign Affairs as an award for his dedicated service.

"I trust it that the everyone was able to attend?" I ask.

"There weren't any actual issues besides some minor scheduling adjustments. While I probably wouldn't get complete attendance if this was done on my own, with you two here I doubt anyone would want to miss what we have in store."

"Then let's begin, Sasro motions and we enter through the door to begin what could very well shape the political climate of Zeon for decades to come.

Sitting around a rectangular desk inside the meeting room were four of Zeon's top leaders in the legislatures, politicians with decades of experience who served as some of the core pillars of the Social Democratic Spacenoid Party. Darcia Bakharov, Toshio Matsunaga, George Ioannides, and Rosa Lawson

Sitting to the left of the head of the table was a white man of standard height with neatly combed brown hair and some signs of slavic features, Darcia Bakharov, who was currently serving as Vice Minister of the Principality (An office whose powers were decreased greatly compared to my run thanks to the office of the Sovereign). As Vice Minister Bakharov was technically the second-most powerful man outside of the royal family in Zeon, his situation wasn't too dissimilar to canon as in Gundam lore he was the Prime Minister of Zeon at the time of the One Year War and was the man who was responsible for Zeon's unconditional surrender after A Bao Qu and the signing of the Treaty of Granada. Originally upon meeting him I was fearful that Bakharov was a Federation sympathizer and may have been a future opponent, though thankfully at the current time he was far from it as thanks to Bakharov being a popular reformist he latched on to the Zabi camp as soon as I started promoting my technological and economic reforms. With Bakharov co-authoring many legislation alongside Degwin, he had begun to swiftly climb the ranks and had Sasro not rejected the author of Vice Minister, would've become Majority Whip. To most of the opposition Bakharov was little more than a Zabi puppet, however he was beyond competent on his own and as head of the growing Nationalist faction within the party was a key asset in corralling Parliament into voting the Zabi agenda.

Next to Bakharov on the left was a built man of Japanese heritage with a thick black beard that was graying heavily along with the rest of his hair, Toshio Matsunaga, father of the legendary "White Wolf of Solomon", Shin Matsunaga, one of Zeon's greatest aces of the One Year War. His character was nearly exact to Jack Ridden, both being willing immigrants from Earth (Jack coming from Australia) who moved the stars and found their fortunes in Zeon, both becoming key allies of Degwin and their sons being future war heroes. Toshio occupied a key position within Parliament as Head of the Finance Committee, reviewing the fiscal budget and every bill that had to do with additional spending and the raising of or cutting of taxes within the government. Toshio was practically an economics wizard and helped to make my plans for Zeon's reforms from an idealistic mess into an actual reality, gathering the funds necessary to have the government perform its job and pass laws to have us overtake the rest of the side. Within Parliament Toshio was unofficially recognized as head of the Conservative bloc, calling for wise fiscal spending and free market economics while helping in my quest to spread Nationalism to Zeon and reinstall more traditionalist cultural practices to revive the various ethnic groups within Zeon. While it seemed odd that such a fiscal conservative would support the vast expansion of government in these past few years, Toshio was brought on board to our plans after I shared in him my Conservative Populist beliefs and the greater endgame for Zeon that would, after the economic buildup and hypothetical war.

If I had to give an ample description of Ioannides, I'd probably call him a Greek Hubert Humphrey, the appearance being a case enough for this title as he literally looked like Humphrey if he had Hellenic features and a thick mustache. The man contained a similar charm and joviality that made him similar to the legendary Democratic Senator and he was well liked within Zeon for being a strong moderate who could unite both sides of the isle. However Ioannides was not a man who contained charisma anywhere close to the Zabis and he was rather humble in his station with little ambitions, something that I could admire in many respects, but it wasn't good character for getting high into power. Before the Principality George had been firmly in the middle of most political battles within Zum City, and while he was still officially a moderate he's been drawing closer to Degwin's camp ever since he had been shot in the leg in the Jimbajacking, his injury erasing any sympathy for those of Jimba's wing of the party and placing his loyalties to Degwin.

Last but not least was an elderly petite black woman who despite her small stature made up for her presence in her commanding voice and energy, Rosa Lawson. Rosa was one of Deikun's first and oldest supporters along the likes of Jimba Ral and Degwin, serving in Parliament since the establishment of the Social Democrats as _the_ party of Zeon. If you were to believe the media reports than Rosa was my prime enemy within Parliament, serving as head of the more Liberal faction of the SDSP and acting as the so-called "moral opposition", standing cordially by Degwin while furiously debating any and all bills that came to the floor and implementing major revisions. While I did have many disagreements with Rosa, she was a politician that I respected and in some cases admired due to her strong integrity and her true dedication towards serving the people. While she is against the enormous expansion of the defense force and is a vocal critic of our fiscal policy, she was a willing partner in reforming Zeon's educational system as well as other social services such as healthcare and urban housing. So long as she didn't become an obstructionist she was more than welcome in the ranks of the party, something I saw as a great necessity to prevent Zeon to shifting completely to the far ends of either spectrum like how politics were becoming in my era. After all if an example could be shown that disagreements with the Zabi family were welcome and could contribute to greater change, then hopefully future generations should stand up to my descendants should they go too far.

I made my way over to the head of the table while Ridden sat at my right and Sasro sat between Ridden and Lawson. "Good afternoon everyone, I want to thank you all for taking the time to attend this very important meeting. While some of you may think of this as nothing more than a social call, it is far from the case as what happens here today may lay the course of the political sphere for the colonies for this next decade." I said. The bold declaration worked as now everyone had their attention on me with Ioannides and Lawsom whispering small talk, though I didn't pay that much attention.

"As of this moment I can officially say that as Prime Minister we have accomplished our mission in uplifting the living standards of Side 3 and the value of Zeon as a whole. We have passed hundreds, no thousands of legislation in these past few years which have dealt with every problem we could find and tackle issues that were just beginning to form. While I still believe that Zeon can always strive for better, at this moment there is little room for us to do besides adapt to the changing situation of daily society and the reactions of the rest of the Federation. If we keep the status quo we can most likely continue the Miracle for at least five or six years at the minimum. However I am not, and will never be content with the status quo. For while Zeon is undergoing a golden age, several of our brothers and sisters across the Sides are still wallowing in misery thanks to the oppression of Federal rule. These Spacenoids do not have the benefit of strong leadership such as yourselves, for they have mediocre and corrupt politicians as the political establishment who only act as yes-men to Lhasa, everyone too afraid to take a stand. We Zeon however are an exception to this cycle of submission, one which will soon become the norm.

To be blunt I seek to make true on my promise of uplifting the colonies to be superior to Earth, to give us the autonomy and distance from the Federation that we so dearly deserve upon being past out. Zeon is secure, it is now time to spread the Age of the Newtype to the other sides. No longer shall we solely focus on matters of Side 3, for we shall fight for every Spacenoid. To do this radical measures must be taken to create a strong and united front to stand up against Earth, radical measures that require all of us to be united moving forward if we are to succeed, which is why I must have the consent of you, the party leaders, before moving forward. As Prime Minister of the Principality of Zeon and Head of the Social Democratic Spacenoid Party, I hereby propose that we disband the SDSP and in the near future create a new political party which shall act as a proper successor to not only wisely govern Zeon, but act as an umbrella organization to unite all across the Side who share similar values. This new party shall be called the Spacenoid Sovereign Front, the instrument through which we shall begin our grand political revolution. Any questions?"

Having just given a speech on what shall essentially be the death of our current political party, the room erupted into a frenzy as all present, save for Jack Ridden and Sasro, began shouting and demanding answers for what I had just put forth. I waited a minute for them to vent out their surprise and initial anger at the proposition, before the mood began to settle down slightly and everyone was trying to listen to just what each other was saying.

In order to grab their attention I banged my fist loudly and repeatedly on the table, grabbing everyone's attention and having them sit in their seat in silence. "Quite everyone! What I am proposing is not some executive order, rather a hypothetical plan that will be carried out in the future over several months if accepted. Seeing as how this is the destruction of our current party, it is not something I intend to do alone, which is why I gathered _you_ first to ask of for your consent and support for this ambitious endeavor. I am well aware of the consequences this will bring, and I have fully prepared and laid out a strategy for the past several months on how this will work without failure. Once I explain I'm sure you will understand, however I can not do so if you all shout over each other like a bunch of primates. Now let's take questions one at a time. Ladies first." I said, stretching my hand out to Lawson.

"Pardon my manners Gihren, but just what the hell do you think you are doing?! Dissolving the party while we are at our strongest and are months away from elections? This is nothing but pure madness that will cause chaos within Side 3 with nothing to gain. Why is the SDSP not good enough, why can we not continue as we always have? You and your family have already established monarchs, now you want to take away the party that Deikun built!" Lawson said, her body shaking with anger at what had been proposed.

"If we wanted to make our own personal party of puppets we would have created something along similar lines a long time ago, or at the very least do so now and not attempt to inform you people, Zeon's most prolific and accomplished legislators next to father, of this plan. We are not killing Deikun's legacy, we are adapting to changing times and presenting a clear message to the rest of the Sides so that they may adopt similar paths and join us to stand against the Federation's corrupt oligarchy." Sasro retorted.

I nodded in Sasro to thank him for his support then looked at Lawson in the eye, "My dear brother is correct Rosa, this may seem like some nightmare straight from Federal propaganda on how we're going to make Zeon some authoritarian dictatorship, but that is far from the case. Having an entire ideology and a government solely based around a single group of individuals will do nothing but lead to utter collapse of the state when said group proves too incompetent to carry out the social contract that has been given to them by the people. My family knows this very well and that is precisely why the creation of the Principality granted checks and balances to all three branches as well as divided duties to the various bureaucracies so that policies could be carried out without obstruction based on personal agenda. That way no matter the state of the Zabi dynasty, Zeon will still continue strong.

Like I said in the beginning this is a proposal, nothing concrete has been done yet and most likely this will take weeks of planning to get anything implemented. If the party leaders are strongly against such a move, then I will abide by their will and abandon this project. Those who will join us from the ranks of the current party will still keep their positions and no grand power plays or coups will be attempted. The only reason I am proposing the establishment of the Sovereign Front is because it is the best solution moving forward. The SDSP is simply not the proper vessel to fulfill this task."

"And why is that?" Asked Lawson.

"It's because this is the Party of Zeon Zum Deikun, and not the party of the people of Zeon. Zeon was a great leader and he performed a remarkable job in leading Zeon to where we stand today. However with Deikun's death we are all still clinging to his philosophy as the sole way to move into the future, a path which may work best for Zeon, but it is not the way for the entirety of the colonies. Already there are multiple holes being created in Deikun's Contolist theories where many of his ideas about Newtypes are being debunked by the Flanagan Institute and the continued activities of our Newtype citizens. Not to mention the fact that Zeon Zum Deikun, while a champion of Spaceonid Rights, is not someone who most Spacenoids outside of Side 3 look favorably to.

"What do you mean? Zeon fought for the rights of all Spacenoids, even if they didn't live directly within the colonies of Side 3. While much of his theories on Newtypes may not be entirely correct, Newtype potential is real and it is growing through the colonies. Zeon is the path of the future." Ioannides said.

"That may be very true George, and I along with the Zabis believe that Zeon's teachings can be used as a guide to self-reliance, however the sad truth of the matter is that outside of our Side, Zeon is a hated figure who most Spacenoids see as nothing more than a crackpot cult leader, even with the recent findings on Newtypes. I've traveled throughout all the Sides thanks to my position, not only speaking with the leaders but also taking a feel of the environment and the mood of the people among these colonies. While the Zabi dynasty has been a massive cause for fear thanks to Federal propaganda, said propaganda is more highly effective in relation to Deikun.

Haven't you ever wondered why it's our Side who freely gives praise to Deikun and acknowledges his wise leadership? It's because of the simple fact that Deikun was able to reach out to the people and establish Side 3 as his base of support. With our isolated position in Lagrange 2 the Federation was able to contain Deikun and make him out to be this great evil to the other Sides. Even if the average citizen of say Riah agreed with almost all of our collective policies and the path that Zeon is taking, they will still be too afraid to act out against the Federation due to the fears of Radicalism emerging and their Sides being turned into some sort of testing ground for a highly warped version of Deikun's message with the "Superhuman Newtypes" who will take control and force Earth to become some sort of jungle world. While I still believe that Deikun's message is a path of the future, the sad truth of the matter is that if we solely stick to Deikun as our platform for the party, then we will fail to gain the support of the other Sides."

"So you've been a part of this plan Jack?" Asked Ioannides, Ridden responding with a nod.

"I was personally contacted by Lord Gihren about three months before the referendum with the groundwork for his idea. He wanted me to get a feel for the other Sides and to see how to best approach them to have us unite in strength against Earth. Personally I don't wish that we have to undertake such drastic changes, but I believe that this is the best way moving forward."

"So we're just supposed to toss Deikun to the curb and forgo everything that he taught solely to gain the acceptance of the other Sides? Because if so then what's the point of being called the Principality of Zeon?" Asked Bakharov, testing me for a response.

I strongly shook my head at the allegation, "That is not at all what I'm saying. If I wanted to erase Zeon Deikun from the history books then I wouldn't have made sure that a 25 meter statue of Deikun sits outside the new Zenith, I wouldn't have Deikun's painting in my office, I wouldn't have made sure that all of Deikun's texts and documents were preserved carefully in the Archives and shared with our University system to let scholars gaze and study his work and allow for his teachings to be shared directly with the students of Zeon, I wouldn't have poured tens of billions into the Newtype programs to make sure that his dream becomes a reality. In short I do want Deikun's legacy to be forever preserved and act as the guiding torch for the human race in the years to come, to teach my children just how much the meaning of the name Principality of Zeon that they will one day rule over. However in order to do that, we must first broaden our message in order to recruit the other Sides so that they may be willing to in the first place join us in our crusade against the Federation, only then will they be open to Zeon's teachings and accept his vision.

All I'm doing is accepting the fact that humankind can never fully accept one point of view or ideology and that with our inherent diversity that we must accept all differences that we share and rally behind a common ideology that takes parts from every side of Space. For at the end of the day someone from say Zahn will have a vastly different mindset than someone of Zeon, through this way we can bridge the gaps and unite as one Spacenoid people."

Matsunaga then raised his hand to ask a question, which I pointed towards and allowed him to speak, "You keep on speaking of this ideology based on unity that we must all rally behind Lord Gihren, yet just what exactly will this ideology, and in general the party platform, entail? I don't want to be forced to giving up my core values and beliefs simply on the basis of having to unite against a great threat." He said.

"I can understand your fears Matsunaga-san, and that's why if we are to accept the motion of creating the SSF, then we shall have an inaugural Party Convention to fully lay out the platform and state exactly what our purpose is and what stances we shall take on various social and fiscal issues. Even then I don't expect everyone within this room to give up their ideologies and what they shall stand for, it's our differences that make up our greater strength as a whole. After all my whole family doesn't agree a hundred percent on every single issue, Lord knows how many times I've argued with Sasro on what he should stand for on his campaign." I said with Sasro slightly smirking in remembering our fights where I tried to get him to see my way on social policy. "And I'll always count on Rosa here to cross-examine every bill that I present before congress, even the ones she co-authored." I said in a friendly jest, the rest of the room laughing at the memories of our "battles" in Parliament, even Rosa herself curling her lips upward, her position far more calmer upon understanding that her old friend wouldn't have his character assassinated after death.

"I do have good reasons for doing so, you're "cultural revivals" are doing nothing but causing us to go back into the archaic ages of Anno Domini when we've abandoned such antique notions thanks to our status as Spacenoids. Not to mention the overgross military spending."

"I'll have you know that I value my homeland and love the culture of my people. What's wrong with showing pride in the ways of our ancestors, it's not like Lord Gihren is forcing anyone to adopt certain customs." Ioannides retorted.

"You see, this type of conversation and civil debate is exactly why I want us to have a party convention before the formation of the Sovereign Front happens. That way everyone has an open platform to share their values and we can incorporate everyone's opinion to one degree or another, especially those of our sister Sides, to become policy in the future. Now if you could please sit back I'd like to take the next hour to show exactly how this can happen point by point."

For the next hour I did exactly that and explained the process of the formation of the Sovereign Front and what role it would play in Zeon and the rest of the Sides in the years to come. Having explained that Deikun would not be abandoned completely in death and that their contributions were always welcome to creating a multilateral platform, the party leaders started to become more accepting of the idea as we moved forward. At the end we all agreed in consensus that this plan would be presented in front of the legislature and Party Committee, and then we would generally come to a general vote on whether or not to reform into the SSF, where upon a successful vote we would create an agenda and plant satellite parties on the other Sides for a coordinated policy across the Earth sphere.

As the Party Leaders were moving out after a few minutes of farewell (during which I was updated on the condition of both Johnny and Shin), my phone had alerted me to receiving a text. I picked it up and smiled like the Cheshire cat at its contents. I moved to Sasro and showed him the message, a sadistic grin forming on the face of my brother, for it was a text from Degwin which alerted us to begin the next phase in our operation to begin what could possibly be the greatest political and social revolution in human history.  
 _  
"The Three Stooges have danced to our tune and our walking towards the abyss. Begin preparation for preemptive strikes, the endgame is near."_

 **Degwin Zabi POV 25 minutes earlier.**

 _"For far too long we faithful have been ridiculed for our beliefs. When the Universal Century came to be the ruling establishment of the Federation sought to dehumanize us as backwards, superstitious zealous whose faith are not compatible with the modern times. When Ricardo Marcenas took the reigns of power as the Federation's first Prime Minister on the eve of the Universal Century, he said 'The Era of God is at an end.' I gaze upon all of you gather today, and I can freely say that the Era of God is not over, rather it is starting anew! Each of us here vary widely in our beliefs; with different dogmas, doctrines, messiahs, prophets, holy texts, and more. While we may all disagree on how to worship, we all stand united as one in our belief of a higher being, that there is a greater reason for the existence of humanity and our role within the universe."_

With a loud audible sigh, I clicked the pause button on the monitor, freezing the video before my eldest could continue on with his speech. "Gihren my boy, I sure hope you know what you are doing. We've come too far to let fanatics come again in the Universal Century." I said to no one in particular, my personal office vacant with only the Royal Guard standing outside the door in close vicinity. The video I had been watching was one that was posted on ZNN's website of a religous conference that Gihren had attended yesterday, the boy responsible for the entire affair by scheduling the venue and handling the invitation and presentations of the religious sects who Gihren chose to reach out to. The article was very blatant in what the event was about, the page being titled, "Gihren Zabi Leads Crusade of the Faithful." To someone who would merely skim at the cover, it would seem like some sort of Christian Revival event that were once wildly popular within America in the last decades of Anno Domini.

Had it been a gathering of Christian Fundamentalists I would've prevented Gihren from ever organizing the conference and forbid him from engaging in such activities. The first decades of space colonization had been especially rife with violence due to the stuffing of hundreds of millions of followers of different faiths into the Sides. Many of the religious who were exiled from Earth were deliberately chosen to go into space due to the fact that their fanaticism and zealotry was no longer tolerated on Earth. Taken by force from the homelands of their faiths, many chose to lash out against those who did not believe in the same God as them. It took years to implement a campaign of law and order to force to silence these radicals, the second generation of Spacenoids learning the harsh way that they needed to tolerate one another or none of us would survive in the vacuum of space. If Gihren had tried to wage some sort of social campaign of Christian dominance, then it would've torn apart the strong bonds of unity in Side 3, reversing back everything that we had gained from the Principality.

Fortunately such the case was far from true. While Gihren was marshaling soldiers of faith, they weren't exclusively followers of the cross. Scrolling down the webpage I had come upon an picture taken of one of the highlight of the event. It was a group photo taken of Side 3's key religous leaders onstage. Front and center was Gihren, smiling and waving toward the crowd. Gihren stood with an air of regal dignity, one that came quite easy to him since becoming the Crown Prince. To his dressed in standard priestly black with various sections of bright red stood Cardinal Roy Wood. Wood was the leader of the Archdiocese of Zum City and the unofficial head of Zeon's collection of Catholic diocese and archdiocese. Since Gihren's conversion Cardinal Wood was a close confidant to the boy in matters of faith and societal issues, in turn becoming one of Gihren's most devoted supporters, occasionally coming to rallies and preaching in support of our cause. It was only natural that he would stand next to Gihren. On Gihren's left however was a different case entirely, for this man did not even wear the attire of a Christian cleric. He was dressed in thick black robes and sported a thick grey beard that covered most of his face. A middle-aged man of Persian descent, this was Hamed Kirmani, Ayatollah of Side 3's Shia population and someone who was speculated to soon ascend to the rank of Marja within the Shia faith.

Kirmani was far from the only ally that Gihren had obtained outside of the Catholic Church as exemplified by those who were standing on the stage. Protestant preachers and Orthodox priests, Sunni clerics, Buddhist monks, Jewish Rabbis, Hindu priests, and many others representing Zeon's vast multi-religious demographics, all stood united with one another in a symbol of unity that would have been next to impossible a few centuries ago. While these men (along with a small number of women) all differed on whose deity was correct and how to live their lives according to their doctrine and dogma, they all agreed to come together and help one another in the face of the Federation's policies of Radical Secularism that have been dominant since the first decades of the Universal Century. It was a remarkable sight to see different faiths work together in defense of their beliefs, yet the same movement if unchecked could also mean the beginning of a very problematic change.

As a self-proclaimed Agnostic I had never cared about what higher power any one else chose to believe. So long as they respected others for not sharing in their religion and practiced peacefully then there was no reason to take action against their free worship. For the past several decades Zeon had fortunately instituted a "Live and let live" policy, keeping away from the more stricter restrictions on open worship that the Federal establishment believed in and letting the various religions run free so long as they did not seek to gain any political power. The closest Zeon had come towards a religious crisis before this point was during the 0060's when Zeon was starting to become...intense in his beliefs. Ironically his untimely demise may have preserved Zeon's legacy as a champion of the Spacenoids, allowing his cult of personality to run towards this very day. Deikun was beginning to get strange ideas about how the universe and its natural order was run and that at the center of it all that "Gaia" was the salvation of humanity and it was Deikun's duty to lead them to the promised land. Fortunately Deikun kept these beliefs mostly in private, though he was becoming more bolder in trying to steer Side 3 into sharing his beliefs, he may have even been planning to create his own sect though I had never seen this in action beyond Deikun inflicting upon himself some sort of messiah complex. Without the scientific evidence of the existence of Newtypes, the religious were starting to grow weary and I had been approached in the past to steer Deikun away from declaring himself a prophet or savior. Suprisingly it was Gihren who had kept the peace, stepping in as a mediator between Zeon's various traditional religions and the more fanatical followers of Contolism, keeping the status quo and steering Zeon towards reason. Now Gihren was freely taking the role of Champion of the Faith, once more worrying Side 3 over the direction of its social specetrum.

 _'Gihren, just what exactly led you to believe in Christianity in the first place?'_ Did the boy truly go through a greater experience during his period of near-death?

Had someone told me years ago that Gihren would have become a member of a Church I would have laughed at the notion. While Gihren was never aggressive in public to maintain a healthy image for the family, in private he had always shown great disgust and objection to those who believed in any sort of faith when discussing the matter with myself and his siblings. He had previously called religious persons, and I quote, _"Delusional followers of superstition who cling to the barbaric mysticism of the past, relics in today's world."_ In his early years Gihren never showed any care for the subject, after Alice's death however he had despised the notion of religion, most likely due to how he couldn't understand on how a benevolent deity would allow his mother to die in such a horrific manner, something that I understood on many levels. So long as Gihren kept these views to himself I never attempted to persuade him from this train of thought, not seeing the point of trying. Yet just like the biblical Saint Paul, Gihren had transformed from an enemy of Christ to a devoted follower, becoming the Catholic Church's greatest patron in space and maintaining an active role in expanding its social programs across Side 3. He even managed to convert Garma to joining him on Sunday, something I never thought to see from Gihren of all people.

If Gihren had changed so radically and had become a better man from it, maybe there was some truth to what he was preaching. We have scientific evidence of the existence of the soul, thus there must be some greater meaning to our existence beyond simply being the evolution of lower organisms. For now I'll happily remain a skeptic, and so long as Gihren keeps away from becoming a zealot then he may continue with his social ambitions in a reasonably controlled manner.

I was interrupted from my thoughts when I heard a slight thump come from my desk. Looking around to see the source I find that it was simply from a fallen portrait, most likely from a small draft in the air conditioning. I picked up the picture and set it in its proper place, a bittersweet nostalgia at the sight. It's an old picture of myself in Alice, both of us standing in what used to be my Parliamentary office on the day of my swearing in as an MP, both of us smiling widely.

I breathed a deep sigh, caressing the picture,"Alice, I wish you could be here and see just how far your children have come. They've all grown into great leaders, few in human history could ever dare to match their accomplishments. They'll lead the Principality to achieve great things when I'm gone, I just wish you were with us when it all happened."

Before I could contemplate further on the matter, the door to my office opened with a slight amount of force, I placed the picture down and looked at the entrance, angry at whoever dared to interrupt my private time. The feeling subsided when I saw that it was Henry Rohm, Head of the Royal Guard and part of my personal detail for the day.

"Lord Degwin, Representative Warren along with Johnson and Li are here to see you. They don't have an appointment but they insist it's urgent.

And just like that my good mood is soured.

To be fair I had been expecting this all day, best to rip the band-aid off quickly then to delay any longer as they say. "Send them in. However Rohm, I want you and another guard to follow in afterwords and stay for the duration of the meeting. I am confident enough that I will not meet my end today, however after Jimba I think it is wise not to let any radicals of the opposition get an opportunity, if you catch my meaning."

"Of course Lord Degwin!" Rohm said with a sharp salute, then exiting to drag the Representatives in. A good man that Rohm, we'll need more men like him in the future in order to cement the Principality.

 _'Hopefully Gihren and Sasro are already playing there part right now.'_ In the past since obtaining the position of Prime Minister, Kycillia has continually questioned why I haven't declared myself dictator and obtained absolute power over Zeon. It would make governing Side 3 far easier without going through the motions and having to deal with this arrogance and delusions of the opposition, that I could simply jail them for daring to speak out oppose my rule. While it's true I could do so and most of Zeon's populace would support me, it would only give further rise to the Federation's propaganda of Zabi rule as the reign of despotic tyrants. In my opinion Gihren said it best, _"Why crush them with brute force father and give legitimacy to a resistance when you can play the system against them and watch as they're helpless to combat a democratic process that they so dearly cling to?"_

My that boy is becoming brilliant.

After almost a minute the leaders of the so-called "Anti-Zabi faction" as the media likes to call them were ushered into my office, each of the three filled with grand amounts of smug arrogance, thinking that after today they would start a series of events that would nip my dynasty in the bud. _'Fools, you lost the day that Deikun died. Each day since then has been you have held onto your power only because I let you.'_

Hugh Warren, Chair of the Education Committe. Almeria Johnson, Vice Chair of Agriculture and Food distribution. Meifen Li, Head of the Independent Caucus. Each held a substantial portion of power within Parliament, after today they would slowly begin to lose it all until total defeat, should they chose to openly oppose me.

The three slowly walked towards my desk, a large amount of confidence and swagger in every step. I chose to simply lean back in my chair and maintain a poker face, not daring to give them the benefit of any type of reaction. The three stopped about a meter before my desk, Warren was about to speak until he noticed Rohm and one of his subordinates enter and take positions at the corners of the office. I knew that Rohm could have been far more discreet in his entrance, thus this was more for dramatic state to let them know not to pull attempt anything rash.

"Really Degwin, you don't trust us enough to have speak in private, you have to call in your dogs by your side." Taunted Warren, a small jab that I did not give a single hint of a reaction towards, much to his displeasure.

"My dogs are at my house not by my side. If you are referring to my most trusted Guards however, the men who are sworn to protect your lives as well according to their mandate, they are simply doing their duty at the moment. After all any sort of crazed assassin can barge into the Capital at any moment, a mad gunman, a federal agent, perhaps even a certain an MP, it certainly wouldn't be the first time." I said, angering Warren as he had once been one of Jimba's allies before his massacre at the capitol. "Besides if I were to pull a Long Knives, simply shooting you in my office would be a sloppy manner of doing so."

Warren was about to make another remark before Li put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from any further outbursts. "Let's not reduce ourselves to bickering children Hugh, remember what we came here for." Li chided, forcing Warren to turn away in slight emberassment.

"Yes I sure do hope that it is important, I don't take kindly to unannounced visits. I am a busy man after all, as a ruling monarch I have little time for frivilites."

Johnson then chose to step forward, "That's just it Degwin, you shouldn't be some glorified dictator, you stole your position from Zeon after his death and now the citizens have been brainwashed into swearing personal allegiance to you and your family. What right did you have to destroy democracy and create a monarchy, the most archaic system of governance, all so that your family never has to give up your powers. Though I shouldn't be surprised, you probably planned for this since the day that Zeon recruited you into the party."

 _'So you want to go in that direction huh?'_ It really didn't hurt me on any personal level after hearing the same insults for so long. It just got annoyingly tedious for people like them to use it as their own self-righteous shields, when it would be so much simpler just for them to come out and say they hated me.

Warren then pulled out from his jacket what appeared to be a couple of sheets of paper, "Degwin Sodo Zabi, what I have here with me today is a Declaration of Secession from the Social Democratic Spacenoid Party. I, along with 72 others, including my fellow Representatives present with me today, hereby announce the creation of a new political party, the Contolist Party. This move is not to tear apart Zeon, rather to save its soul and the legacy of our great leader Zeon Zum Deikun from tyranny..."

Warren, along with occasional interjections by Johnson and Li, went on for the next twenty minutes listing several "grievances" against my rule and the current Principality, virtually ranting about how this wasn't what Deikun envisioned and that they would launch a social revolution to reclaim Side 3 and set it on its current course. If I were a lesser man I would be afraid, but this paltry excuse for a resistance was hardly anything to worry about. Thanks to Kycillia's resources along with Sasro's network within the party, I was well aware that of the possibility of a splinter movement within the Social Democrats for months now. These were the hardliner Contolists who had surrounded Deikun as pathetic sycophants during his reign. After Deikun's passing and the ironic purging of many of most of the Ralists and Establishment Social Democrats during the Jimbajacking, we were able to fill the party with dozens loyal to the cause and converted a majority of the remaining members thanks to the defection of some such as Ioannides. These few were nothing but a cowardly lot who were too afraid to take action during the creation of the Principality, yet for some asinine reason felt now was the perfect time to strike and take me down a peg. My natural instinct was to crush them swiftly and brutally, but once again Gihren stepped in and came up with a brilliant plan. One that would weed out our enemies within the government and in the long run ensure a Zabi hegemony over Side 3 for generations. All it took was to let them enact their little revolution.

As time passed I began to not pay attention to most of the speech that the three were performing, each taking terms striking against what they viewed wrong about the Principality and how they planned to restore the "glory days" of the Republic. Having Gihren as my son, I was exposed to one of humanity's greatest orators on a daily basis. Compared to Gihren's work this performance was nothing but a Grade scholer's presentation, though that was too high of praise as I'm sure that even Garma could come up with something better than this. I could even see Rohm in the background rolling his eyes, though biased it was a sure sign of how "exciting" the affair was. It's not like there was anything that I hadn't heard from Federation propaganda before. Halfway through I just tuned them out and started thinking of plans for dinner.

 _'Would sushi be good or should we have pasta and salad? Maybe I should treat the children to a night out.'_

I then noticed Rohm making a motion with his heads towards the delegates, I guess they were wrapping up their speech. I started to pay attention once again (thankfully my glasses do wonders in keeping a straight poker face) and looked towards Warren who was had a triumphant smirk.

"Thus, with our agenda proclaimed to the people, we shall now take part in the 0070 Legislative Elections in order to wrest control of Side 3 away from the corrupt Principality and return Side 3 to how it was envisioned by Zeon Deikun." Warren finished, putting his speech back in his jacket and staring me down, daring me to show any kind of reaction. "This is our manifesto Degwin. For too long you have had free reign of Side 3, now it's time for the voice of the people to be heard again. What do you have to say for yourself?" Warren, Johnson, and Li all looked towards me, mostly likely anticipating some kind of outrage or begging for their return.

Instead of falling for their bait I responded with a simple thanks. "Thank you for your time, if that will be all then good day and good luck in the elections."

All three representatives were stunned into silence, mouths left wide open, clearly not anticipating that I would just shrug off their little stunt. "What...what the hell! Did you not just listen to a single word we said?" Asked Johnson.

"Yes, you don't like my family so you're making your own party to run Side 3 the way you want to. A pretty drawn-out speech for something so simple. To be honest though you should've gone to Gihren with this in the first place. As Prime Minister he is technically the head of the SDSP, so this is more in his jurisdiction, not mine."

Li then decided to lash out, "That's just it Degwin, it shouldn't be like this, none of this should've happened. What right do you have to proclaim yourself as a an absolute monarch? What right do your children have to be thrusted into high positions of power when they do not deserve any of it. Who gave you the right?"

At this point I couldn't resist any longer and straight up laughed at the childishness of their complaints, angering them once again that I did not take their words seriously. Not wanting to have to deal with this nonsense further, I took off my glasses and looked all three of them straight in the eyes, "It's incredible how much your hubris has led you to become so blind to reality. You three seem to have some sort of notion that I stole the government, that I launched some grand coup to turn Side 3 into my own personal Authoritarian regime. While I will not deny that I am an ambitious man at heart, none of my positions have ever been obtained through solely illicit means. I won my parliamentary seat with popular approval consecutively through two decades, I climbed through the ranks of Parliament through majority approval of the party, I was chosen by majority rule to become Prime Minister after a madman tried to end my life. I was chosen by the people to become their Sovereign after the creation of a legally binding referendum, a referendum where over a billion of Zeon's citizens chose to create the Principality, knowing that they would be placing my family in a position of power for generations. This referendum was passed by Parliament, which I remember during said time you and your allies barely put up a fight to stop it. Was it because you knew that I would win and you were to scared to fight against it, because you knew that the people would be on my side?

As for my children, every one of them obtained their power through legal means as well. Gihren was appointed by Deikun to serve in his cabinet and won a large Parliamentary approval, proving himself in office to be more than capable to the task leading him to rise to Vice Minister and Prime Minister after hundreds of millions of Zeon's citizens demanded that he rise to such a position. Sasro was hired by the Party to serve as its Public Relations Director and now he is seeking a democratically-elected position. Kycillia won her post after my nomination with Parliamentary approval and Deikun's support. Dozle is perhaps the greatest case of ingenuity among my children as he rose through the ranks purely based on his merit.

I did not launch a purge against my enemies, I beat them through wit and strategy. I did not gain my posts through pure deception and manipulation, I have repeatedly stated my goals to the public and they have supported my policies. I did not kill the Republic, I created a new constitution that set up a system that would be for the greater benefit of the people of Side 3, which they voted upon and approved. The truth of the matter is that you do not act in defense of democracy or out of any moral code, rather you are jealous. Jealous that I was one of Deikun's closest confidants and in the end his most trusted ally, jealous of my title and the powers that come with it, jealous of the success that I have accumulated throughout my life. You do not care that a Principality was created, you simply care that it is the Zabi dynasty that heads it. If I had selected Casval as the Sovereign none of you would bat an eye, though you would most likely turn around and claim me to be abusing the boy as a Zabi puppet.

To put it simply, I do not care about your petty revolution because you will never achieve victory. You believe that some great calamity will fall upon myself and the Principality shall fall as a failed experiment, yet that moment is increasingly impossible with each passing day. Zeon is currently the most advanced nation within the Earth sphere and it is all thanks to the policies and programs created by my family. The people cheer the name Zabi in the streets, knowing that the Principality is to thank for their prosperity. I have inherited Deikun's mantle and I have fulfilled every promise I have made since his passing. So go, go and have fun with your little party and your plots to bring down my reign. For when election day comes watch as my mandate is placed into law by the will of the people. And there is nothing you can do to stop it."

I leaned back in my chair and smirked as the three stooges stood speechless, unable to come up with a retort to my monologue. I then snapped my fingers, "Colonel, could you please escort our uninvited guests out. I believe I am done for the day."

"As you command Lord Degwin!" Rohm said with a salute, him and the other Gaurd coming in from the corners to escort the nuisances out. Johnson and Li complied but Warren slapped the arm of Rohm away, leading the Colonel to raise his rifle on his shoulder a bit, flinching the man into submission. Before he left the man turned to me, determined to have the last word.

"This isn't over Degwin, there will be a day of reckoning and the Zabis shall pay for their greed!"

"I look forward to it." I replied in a sarcastic manner. Rohm then forcefully shoved Warren out of the way and then led the Representatives out of the office, leaving me in isolation once more.

 _'Now it's time to begin the next act of this grand performance.'_ Reaching for my smartphone I texted Gihren and told him that I was finished with my part. Hopefully both he and Sasro have met with the Party leaders and have already sowed the seeds of change within their minds. Depending upon how quickly the so-called "Contolist Party" proclaimed their new formation either today or sometime later, then we would react appropriately with retaliation and proclaim in turn the formation of the Sovereign Front. I have faith in Gihren and Sasro that this can get done with the upmost efficiency.

 _'A new chapter of history shall be written in the years to come, and the Zabi dynasty shall be its authors.'_

 **A/N: Out with the old and in with the new. Thanks everyone for your high praise and heavy response for the last two chapters. With this update we have entered into a new phase of the story for Kaiser Gihren and the Zabi family as a whole, mainly them seeking to keep their power now that they have taken control of Side 3. In politics it's often easy as part of the opposition to freely criticize and fight against the ruling power. When you suddenly becoming the head of state, especially as part of a monarchy, you now find yourself on the receiving end of such heavy criticism and need to defend your own actions which will receive more scrutiny. While the Zabis do have the support of most of Side 3, they have formed their far share of enemies and people who do not believe that Degwin and his children are the best future for Side 3. In canon Degwin simply ruled as a strong dictator and eliminated his enemies with impunity. Here with Kaiser Gihren calling for restraint, they'll have to work within the system. It will be a far more difficult task, but as Degwin noted it is far more rewarding.**

 **Now some commentary on the events taking place and characters introduced. The OC of George Ioannides belongs to Many Faced Mage on Fanfiction. He submitted the character of George, along with other potential OC's, to me months ago and I figured I'd use him here, so thanks Mage. The rest of the OC characters are exclusively mine, while canon characters of course belong to Sunrise and Tomino. Johnny and Shin's fathers debut here and rest assured the Crimson Lightning and White Wolf will make an appearance in a chapter in the near future. For Johnny he'll start to become a prominent part of the main cast in his fic, with future sections delving heavily into his soon to be blossoming relationship with Kycillia. Shin will eventually work under Dozle's wing and will be a prominent MS ace.**

 **Also we had some minor developments in the relationship between Gihren and Cecilia, which I hope is satisfying for the readers as this story is my first time delving into any kind of romance and I want the development between the two to feel natural and not contrived, especially with how it has been developing in relationship to canon. We'll get some more steady development in future chapters, but it will be quite a long time before any kind of major event such as a confession happens.**

 **Also this is once again one of the more political chapters with a more comprehensive look into Zeon's politics and ideological divisions. For those curious about how I will handle this along with other aspects of worldbuilding in the Unviersal Century, while much of my personal beliefs comprise a core aspect of several of Kaiser Gihren's actions, not everything is going to go his way and the world won't switch to Kaiser Gihren's vision, as the human race is far too diverse in thinking to have a majority follow one way of living. I intend to give all sides of the political spectrum along with major cultural and social institutions fair play and they shall only be depicted according to how the Universal Century would most logically transform modern values or how they would evolve thanks to the changing history of the UC in this story. If you have any questions on the grand scope of the Universal Century and how I intend to worldbuild, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you want an intensely in-depth explanation.**

 **Next chapter we shall be going back to Dozle and we'll finally have a mobile suit battle in this** _ **Mobile Suit: Gundam**_ **fanfic. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!**


	35. Battle Royale Part 1

**April 5th, 0070. Granada, Luna. Third Person POV**

Growing up, the young man known as Dozle Zabi had never been known to be much of a social person. While Dozle had a rather brash and outgoing personality, acting in many ways of what could be said to be an extrovert, his social life had still been far less than many of his fellow peers. At first it was due to his large physical stature, Dozle had been a young behemoth of a child and such a large body alongside what many considered to be unattractive looks and an (unintentionally) menacing face, Dozle had unwillingly gained a reputation of a brute and a delinquent, when such the case was far from the truth. While Dozle's good record would later uncover these fabricated rumors, his father's rise in power as the right hand man of Zeon Zum Deikun still kept many students away in fear of the potential power that Dozle had thanks to his father, while many of those that did come to the young Zabi did so with ill intent to gain great rewards from the son of Degwin Zabi. Due to the situation, Dozle had never really had a great deal of friends besides a rare few such as his best friend Shin Matsunaga. With all of these factors, alongside a tumultuous homelife that had not improved greatly until three years ago, Dozle Zabi was a rather socially inept person that had little experience in grand social gatherings, thus making the current event a rather exciting and new experience for him.

"DOZLE!"

"DOZLE!"

"DOZLE!"

Within a sport's bar in the upper levels of Granada, a gathering was taking place that had seen the entire establishment reserved for the occasion. Outside the building that housed the bar, a small squad of Zeon Army soldiers stood at attention, wearing MP sashes while standing at guard with rifles on their shoulders. Officially these were men of the Zeon Military Police, on duty to protect their fellow servicemen who had taken over use of the bar. While some men did in fact belong to the local Granada attachment, mixed among them were members of the newly established Zeon Royal Guard. Their purpose, to protect the man who was third-in-line to the throne, Dozle Zabi.

Sitting at a small four-seat table, was the Prince of Zeon himself, Dozle's large body dwarfing the seat that he had occupied. Surrounding Dozle were several of the pilots under his command in the 01st Wing, a large number cheering him on, with some cheering against, as Dozle was in an intense arm-wrestle with the leader of the Black Tri-Stars, Master Chief Petty Officer Gaia Stine. Though in actuality, to call it tense was only true for one of the combatants.

On one side of the table, sat Master Chief Gaia, the Black Tri-Star's face turning as red as a tomato while sweat trickled down his forehead, along with veins starting to pop on his skin, in his desperate attempt to take down the Zabi prince. While Gaia may have looked to be fat and rotund, the truth was far from it as most of his 120 kilogram weight was used in muscle, and Gaia himself had been a weightlifting star during his high school days. Coming into the match Gaia expected to have the best shot compared to those who previously fell before Dozle, yet it seemed that he was in for the fight of his life. Next to Gaia the two other members of the Tri-Stars, Mash and Ortega, were cheering him on, the two being the loudest of the crowd.

"Kick his royal ass Chief!"

"Watch closely everyone as David's gonna whoop Goliath!"

To Gaia's credit, while Dozle did feel a strong pressure going against him, and there was some swerving in the Zabi's grip, what Gaia was producing was far from the worst that Dozle had been dealt with, and up to this point he hadn't even gone to his full power.

Looking across at Gaia and seeing that he was taking quite the beating, while also not wanting one of his best pilots to injure himself before the coming wargames, Dozle decided to put an end to the match and shifted all of his might into his right arm, thrusting Gaia's fist onto the table in less than a few seconds.

"And the victory goes to...DOZLE ZABI!" cried Andy Strauss, who acted as the impromptu referee for the proceedings. Excited, somewhat drunken, shouts accompany the proclamation, along with a few groans from the Tri-Stars.

Reacting to his friend's discomfort, Mash quickly sprinted to get a glass, filled it entirely with ice, and gave it to Gaia, who then nursed it inside of the cup.

"Jeeezus CHRIST Boss Man! Was your momma on a Roid diet when you were in her womb?" Questioned Gaia jokingly.

Taking the light atmosphere in-stride, Dozle chuckled while shaking his head, then making a move to jokingly flex his muscle. "Nope, this is all natural skill and years of honed training. With these MS killers here, no one can defeat me!" Dozle proclaimed, then raising a small shot glass that he had next to him, which was filled by Andy with a serving of tequila. Dozle raised the glass and poured it down his throat, to the excited cheers of the small crowd that had gathered around him.

"And that makes number ten!" said Dozle. About a half an hour before Mash had proposed a simple drinking game where they would set up an arm-wrestling contest and whoever won would be given a shot for a reward. The hindrance was that with each victory, the alcohol would null the senses and thus lead to a quick exchange of winners. After an exchange of rounds in the beginning, Dozle decided to get into the mix, with many of his pilots attempting to take him down, with all failing to come close to victory. While such a high number of shots would be harmful for most, in their preparations for the party, Dozle and Ramba made sure to get rid of the drinks with the highest alcoholic percentages, so things wouldn't get too bad unless someone was binging all night. Not that such a thing was a threat to Dozle, as with his high body mass he could intake far more alcohol than the average person.

"Unless anyone wants to be number eleven, I think I'll call it quits for now. I'll let one last challenger face me on if they want to though." Said Dozle. There were some playful groans from the gathered crowd, however most were secretly glad that Dozle was quitting at this point as they had come to the conclusion that no one within the Wing could beat Dozle at such a trivial physical exercise. They'd have to get an Olympian just to even up the playing field.

Seeing that there was a lack of responses, Dozle moved to get out of his chair, until the voice of a newcomer stopped him, "I shall take on the call!" Shouted a pilot who everyone was quick to recognize by the thick Russian accent. A few other pilots moved out of the way, revealing the portly Mikhail Kaminsky, a sly grin covering the face of the Russian-Zeonite pilot.

Hushed whispers covered the crowd at the proclamation, a mixture of excitement and bewilderment covering the air. Behind Kaminsky came Gabriel Garcia, shaking his friend and trying to knock some sense into him.

"I know you're drunk Mikhail but this is just crazy! Didn't you see the Commander whoop everyone else? You're half his size for crying out loud." Pleaded Garcia, trying to knock some sense into Mikhail.

"You better listen to your friend Ruskie, if I can't do it then there's no one in this club who can defeat Dozle." Said Gaia, still nursing his wounded hand which was starting to lose its pain thanks to the help of the ice.

Mikhail only laughed at their worry, not caring at all about the strength of his would-be opponent. "I may have had plenty to drink tonight, but I'm not so wasted as that I don't know what's going on. Better to try and fail in my book then to never know what's going to happen. What do you say Commander. You wanna fight this big bad Ivan, or are you chicken?" Kaminsky taunted.

Dozle smirked, not at all bothered by Mikhail's taunting. He shrugged his shoulders, figuring he'd have one more easy win and then he could get on with the rest of the party. "All right, this will be the last round though. Winner takes all! Just don't say you weren't warned Petty Officer." Dozle said, putting his arm in position.

"Before we get this match started however, I'm afraid that you are at a disadvantage. You are at ten shots Commander, while I haven't had any. I think I should even things up, to make it fair." Mikhail said, Dozle was confused on what he was going to do. Then seconds later his eyes went wide at the sight of Mikhail pulling out a bottle of vodka that he had apparently been hiding out at his side, opening the bottle, and taking multiple deep chugs of the drink, well beyond the ten shots that Dozle had taken. After finishing what seemed to be a tenth of the bottle, Mikhail lowered it with a content sigh, a happy and eager smile on his face.

 _'How the hell did he smuggle that into the party? Did he raid the bar?'_ Thought Dozle.

Mikhail made his move to sit down at the table, Andy made his way to set the grips of the two combatants straight, only to reel back in disgust after his nose caught the stench of the new arrival, a feeling that was shared by Dozle when he took a deep whiff.

"Christ, Kaminsky! Did you even need the bottle? You smell like a brewery already. Are you even okay?" Andy said.

Mikhail merely shrugged his shoulders in response. "I have a high alcohol intolerance. Besides, I've been sober for months at this point. I'm not going to let you prudes ruin my night off."

Andy relented with a sigh. _'Your going to lose anyway, might as well get this over with.'_ He thought. Andy motioned for both Dozle and Mikhail to get ready, once their arms were in position, Andy began to officiate.

"All right. Match starts in 3,2,1. GO!" Andy shouted, launching the two men into a brawl.

At first Dozle went light on Mikhail, wanting to play with him a little bit as a courtesy for this being his last match. He was careful not to completely lapse though as he felt a tough grip from Mikhail, through his arm Dozle felt like this was the strongest matchup he was going against tonight, even stronger than Gaia. For a few seconds this stalemate went on, with Mikahil slowly moving Dozle's arm a few degrees every second. After about half a minute, Dozle resolved to get the match over with, and put all of his strength into his right hand, at first Mikhail's arm swerved for a few degrees, but then Dozle was shocked as Mikhail responded only with increased strength. At first, Dozle thought that this was merely an adrenaline boost, but as time went on Dozle poured his all into winning the fight, yet the position of his hand refused to move. This put Dozle into a state of total disbelief, for the first time he might actually lose.

Dozle looked towards his opponent, expecting to see that Mikhail was showing some signs of tiredness so that he could win through a battle of attrition. Yet to another shock of Dozle's, Mikhail didn't show any signs of weakness, only pure determination. Seeing that Dozle was realizing that this was not going to be any easy win, Mikhail smiled like a Cheshire cat and let out a deep laugh.

"I bet you thought that you were probably going to one-hit me once you turned serious, huh Commander? Sadly you forgot one of the basics of warfare, never underestimate your enemy. Now I shall show you the secret art of the Kaminsky family that has been passed down for generations. The Art of the Drunken Fist!" Mikhail shouted, his proclamation gaining him renewed strength as he managed to turn Dozle's fist several degrees lower, forcing the Zabi's arm to less than forty-five degrees at the moment.

Once it set upon the crowd that not only was Dozle trying his hardest, but that he was losing, a combination of excitement and terror beset them.

"Holy shit, Lord Dozle is losing!"

"I can't believe that drunk is actually going to beat the Big Boss!"

"Who knew the secret to defeating a Zabi was vokda?!"

Slowly the crowd which had once been purely faithful to Dozle, began to drift towards Mikhail's side.

"Kaminsky! Kaminsky! Kaminsky!" Chanted the crowd, excited to see their Commander finally lose at a physical competition. Dozle did his best, trying to put everything into his arm for the first time tonight to not go off with a defeat. While Dozle managed to swerve Mikhail's arm a few times, his opponent didn't lose his determination, closer and closer was Dozle on the edge of defeat. If he had gone serious from the start, then maybe the match would've been even and Dozle could've ended it long ago. Unfortunately for the Zabi, his arrogance had cost him the match from the beginning as those precious seconds gave Mikhail all he needed to claim victory.

After a struggle that lasted for nearly another minute, Mikhail put one last surge of power into his arm and thrust his arm to the edge, defeating the Zabi prince.

The crowd turned completely quiet at the last move. For a few seconds no one made a sound, and were it not for the music, televisions, and various conversations in the rest of the bar it would've been complete silence. Recovering from the shock, Andy remembered his impromptu job and raised Mikhail's hand.

"Lord Dozle has been defeated! The winner of the match is Petty Officer First Class Mikhail Kaminsky!"

The crowd erupted into jubilation, chanting Mikhail's name for defeating Dozle, who smiled as if he won the lottery. With an exhausted sigh, Dozle got out of his chair, going to shake the victor's hand as a sign of sportsmanship. While a loss was always tough to bear, it was just arm-wrestling and Dozle still had a fun time even in defeat. It wasn't often that Dozle got to meet near him physically, and so it was always a fun challenge when he could fight on an equal playing field.

"Well done Petty Officer." Congratulated Dozle. Mikhail returned the handshake fully.

"Can't say it was easy Commander, you wrestle as hard as a Siberian Polar Bear. Now who wants to claim the title from me?!" Mikhail shouted in a daring manner, only to stumble and land face first on the table from his drunken state. This didn't bother him at all laughing as he got up.

Taking that as his cue to leave the group, while several new challengers rushed to see if they could take on Mikhail, Dozle made to exit the scene and move towards the bar. There he motioned for the barkeep, wanting to order some food so he could stomach the ten shots he had taken. "Eight piece buffalo wings and some potato skins please." Asked Dozle, the barkeep complying with the Zabi's request while giving him a large glass of water, which Dozle drank half of in a single take.

When he was done Dozle turned to look at the party, happy at what he saw. From what he could see everyone was having a blast. Besides the arm-wresting competition that was going on, Visch Donahue was leading a small group of pilots at the pool tables, where he appeared to be hustling a poor sap. Towards the northside of the bar a football game was playing on the big screen, with several pilots glued to their seats while watching the match, a small karaoke machine was being set up by some of the employees, and towards one of the doors leading upstairs, Dozle could swore that he saw Cima Garahau leading an entranced Gerhart Schmitzer up to the second floor. Dozle certainly didn't need Gihren's IQ to understand what was taking place with those two.

Overall it was a good night, making Dozle glad that he had agreed to the whole event from Ramba Ral. His co-commander had suggested a couple weeks before that they have a party to take place before the going away games, a send-off to the 01st MS wing for all that they had gone through. At first Dozle had been highly reluctant due to his lack of experience in participating in such large social gatherings, alongside worries of getting his men too relaxed before the wargames. However, thanks to the constant nagging of Ramba over the period of several weeks, Dozle had finally relented, something that he was grateful for.

Dozle turned his attention back to the bar when the barkeep had brought back his order, setting the food in front of Dozle. Dozle took a bite of his potato skin, only to slightly choke on it when he felt a a heavy slap on his back. "What's up?" Asked the voice behind him. Dozle drank out of his glass of water in order to ensure that he wouldn't choke to death, forcing the appetizer to go down his throat. Once that was done Dozle turned around, to see Ramba Ral standing behind him.

"Ramba! How have you been?" Dozle asked cheerfully, willing to let go of the fact that Ramba had almost suffocated him with that slap.

"It's been pretty good so far. I was upstairs spending most of the time playing poker with Norris' men. Don't know if it was the alcohol or they were just shitty players, but I managed to swipe three grand from right under them." Ramba said, happily retrieving a stack of bills, the lunar paper form of the Federal credit, from his pocket. He slid down into the seat next to Dozle, ordering some grilled shrimp. "How about you? Our great prince get into anything scandalous?"

Dozle rolled his eyes in response, "Nothing too much, I started watching the game and then I got roped into an arm-wrestling match set up by the Tri-Stars. I was on a hot streak for a while until Kaminsky of all people kicked my ass in the end. Turns out all of those myths of drunken strength are true, at least in his case."

Ramba let out a low whistle, "Dozle Zabi losing a contest of strength. Now I've seen everything." He said, causing the two men to let out a light laugh.

For the next fifteen minutes the two officers sat there at the bar, eating there food while making smalltalk along with some half-active views of the various football matches across the Earth Sphere that were set up on the screens. Most of the conversation was spent on Ramba describing into detail how he managed to use his poker skills to win the various matches, which included both some incredible bluffs and lucky hands.

 _'Note to self, never take on Ramba in poker without a Newtype at my side.'_ Thought Dozle.

"By the way Dozle, what are you going to once the unit disbands? Going to retire at Captain and court the princesses of the Earth sphere?" Ramba asked, the last sentence jokingly. Although, what Ramba had said about Dozle becoming a Captain, despite him being a Commander at the moment, was going to be true within a few weeks time as High Command decided to promote every member of the 01st MS Wing a single rank for being some of the first MS pilots within the entire Defense Force.

"Trying to kick me out of the force Ramba so you can become a flag officer before I can?" Asked Dozle jokingly in response to which Ramba just grinned. "No, if I have my way I probably won't retire until beyond 0100. The Space Force has done so much for me, and I still got so much to give back to it when we're just starting to become a proper military. I guess I could sorta do a decent job at being a politician, but that's always been Gihren and Sasro's gig and I'll never be half as good as them." Dozle said with a slight amount of jealousy and admiration. While a small part of Dozle had always wished that he could perform in the same capacity and skill as his elder siblings, he was always content for the most part as both Gihren and Sasro were only working in areas that they did best, and were doing wondrous things to help the people of Zeon. Dozle was already a good soldier and that's where he needed to stay.

"As for my next assignment, Gihren and Father have discussed this with me since New Years, and they've been saying that they want me to be an inspector of sorts when it comes to our expanding military-industrial complex. We're pouring hundreds of billions into new ships, vehicles, and weaponry, yet there's been many projects where R&D has come up either horribly flawed in their designs, or production is severely behind schedule. Father wants me to go visit several of our production facilities and make sure that our taxes aren't being wasted. While I might not be the smartest at mechanics, I know enough to get by and I think the presence of a Zabi will motivate them to work faster." Dozle said, only to find Ramba snickering lightly. "What?"

"Dozle, you do realize that you are literally about to become a glorified Quality Control manager right?"

"No I'm not!" Dozle retorted, "I'm just review our military production and make sure that the quality is...oh my God, I am."Dozle said in a slight amount of shock, to which Ramba put his hand on the Zabi's shoulder.

"Don't worry I'm just messing with you. I think your father's got the right idea, my family's income may not be as great as it used to be, but I don't want my taxes hiked up to pay for something that could explode in my face on the battlefield. As for myself, Highcomm wants me to be assigned to HQ for most of the year so that I can help the Joint Chiefs come up with a new theoretical doctrine for mobile warfare when the new fleet is built and the Army finally modernizes. Personally it's a blessing for me since I'll get to see Crowley again. I'm thinking of asking her to move in with me." Said Ramba, a dreamy look on his face at the mention of his beloved and the chance that they could finally live together.

At the mention of this news Dozle bore a wide smile on his face, happy for his friend's good fortunes. "Congratulations! If you want I can help with some of the moving when she says yes." A statement that was far from false as Dozle could most likely pick up an entire couch with his strength. "It'd be nice to finally meet Crowley in person, from what I've seen you're a lucky man. Dozle said. A couple of times Dozle had accidentally walked in on Ramba when he was making a call to Crowley. While at first Ramba was mad at the intrusion, he mellowed down when Crowley asked for the chance to speak with the young Zabi, wanting the chance to talk to one of Zeon's royal family in person. Not only was Crowley a beauty, but she also struck Dozle as a woman with keen intelligence, a high sense of humor, and a slight air of mystery. Not that Dozle wanted to intrude on that relationship, it was clear to anyone that saw the two together that Ramba and Crowley were madly in love with each other. Seeing the two interact pinged a small part of Dozle's heart, himself wishing he could find that kind of relationship one day with a woman.

 _'It's not like I'm past my prime. I'm still young and I have several years ahead in life. It's not like Gihren or Sasro ever had a girlfriend either. Though Sasro and Kycillia think Gihren might have something with his Chief of Staff.'_ Thought Dozle, hoping that one day love would eventually come to him.

"Thanks man, although I think the Royal Guard wouldn't be comfortable with one of their charges possibly breaking their back due to some furniture." Ramba said, eliciting a small laugh from Dozle. Ramba then took another shrimp in his mouth, finishing the skewer, then wiping his hands with a napkin. "You know Dozle, I had my doubts going into this project. I mean, how the hell could anyone possibly believe that giant robots could become a staple of future warfare? Now though, after everything that we've been through the past year, I say that the Principality has a bright future ahead of it. And the 01st Wing will be leading the charge, fighting back against the tyranny of the Federation. Thanks for having me at your side." Ramba said, outstretching his arm for a handshake, which Dozle returned.

"Not at all it's been an honor to serve with you." Dozle said. He then carried his glass in a toast, not caring that it was filled with water and not liquor. "To the 01st Wing, may it live on in legend!"

"To the Wing!" Ramba replied with his own glass of coke, the two clinking their glass.

Ramba's eyes then wandered around the bar, and spotted an attraction of interest. "Hey, they finally got the karaoke machine set up. Wanna sing your heart out?" He asked Dozle.

"Me? Sing? Not in a million years."

 **One Hour Later**

After a couple of drinks, Dozle Zabi was onstage singing Journey:

"DON'T STOP, BELIEVING! Hold onto that feeling! STREETLIGHTS, PEOPLE!"

 **April 7th, 0070. Side 3. Battle Colony Three.**

In the beginning of the 0040's the Federal Army would come to face its greatest challenge since the end of the Unification Wars, the momentous task of maintaining the defense of hundreds of colonies in the Earth sphere, containing billions of citizens of the Earth Federation. While the total unification of humanity under the Federation eliminated the risk of any foreign threats, the early years of the colonial era where a violent one filled with riots, terrorist attacks, and gang warfare as billions of humans from every region of the world from different backgrounds had to adjust to one another and try to create something new out of their forced exodus, taking the anger of their collective misfortunes on their fellow colonials who they considered to be too alien. There was also the constant fear of the Federal council of the possibility of a colonial revolt and the creation of independent nations, for in the infancy of the Earth Federation Space Force from 0030 to 0050, the Space Fleet was a new concept that zero experience in warfare and first-generation ships that were barely a threat to armed freighters. It was only by a stroke of luck that the Federation did not experience any large colonial uprisings during this period, mainly owing to the infancy of the colonial economies which prevented the creation of a strong state, alongside the lack of strong, charismatic, Nationalist leadership such as that of Zeon Zum Deikun. In order to make sure that the status quo remained the same, the Army would invest years and trillions into the creation of a new doctrine of colonial warfare. The first step towards practicing this new doctrine would be the creation of the battle colonies.

A battle colony was a O'Neil cylinder built for the sole purpose of practicing war exercises in a controlled and artificial environment that was represented of the average colony in the Side cluster. Most of these battle colonies are heavily urbanized, with a few containing more rural environments for the purpose of simulating combat in agri-colonies. The colony would be absent of a permanent residential population and would have its "infrastructure" and residences made out of cheap materials that could easily be replaced in a quick and timely manner in the aftermath of a large scale exercise. Here in the battle colonies the Federal Army could learn how to properly wage warfare within a closed 360 environment, a battlefield that was completely alien to the veterans of the Unification Wars. Grand battles could be fought for days with no risk of civilian casualties. After years of practice the Federal Army adjusted to their new environment and were ready to crush any Spacenoid uprisings should they rise up and need to learn their place. Or at least, that was the plan.

After years of waging mock battles and the colonies becoming increasingly docile outside of the occasional riot or civil disturbance, Jaburo saw little need to continue practicing for a war that was seeming to never come. As the last officers of the Unification Wars entered retirement, a new generation of military leadership that had never truly experienced the horrors of total war took command, becoming completely lax and complacent in the running of the Federal military as corruption spread deeply into the ranks. While the presence of Federal troops did increase and Federal military law becoming more lax in occupational procedures each year, the Federal Joint Chief of Staffs saw the battle colonies as superfluous so long as each soldier received basic training and knew how to operate heavy machinery. Thus, starting in the late 0050's, the construction of new battle colonies were halted and the existing colonies became absent of use beyond a few annual mock wars conducted by some of the more prestigious colonial units. However, this situation would change recently with the increasing militarization of Zeon.

In 0067, then-Colonial Secretary Gihren Zabi along with the heavy support of his father and the Nationalist faction of the SDSP, successfully persuaded Zeon Zum Deikun to adding the construction of two new battle colonies to the budget when before Zeon had only a single closed-type battle colony for its defense force. After the Jimbajacking and the passing of the National Security Act, this number was increased to nine, six open-types and three-closed types. This wasn't even the end of Zeon's militaristic expansionism as there were talks within the Defense Department for the construction of five more open-types, allowing a great amount of freedom for the exponentially expanding defense force to properly wage war with its new technological terrors.

At the moment the defense force was putting them to good use with five of the colonies currently seeing action, with the third containing the 01st MS Wing. The 01st was taking part in a series of five day war games that would see the unit undergo its last days before its roster officially disbanded at the end of the week. A few pilots would stay within the Wing under the leadership of Lieutenant Chalia Bull, meanwhile the rest would be scattered throughout the Space Force, with a few joining the Army and Marines, as the first veteran pilots of the mobile corps. This week of war games would be intended to be a sort of sendoff to the pilots of the Wing, allowing each pilot to use the experience they've accumulated to battle at full potential for the glory of scoring the last victories against their teammates, as well as preparing them for the future.

The first day would consist of a Battle Royale scenario where the wing was divided into sixteen teams of three, each team corresponding to an MS Squad. The Sixteen teams would have roughly two hours within the open-colony to try to eliminate the other teams before the time ran out, while at the same time having to stay within the bounds of an increasingly closed battle space that shrinked with each passing minute. The last team that was left standing by the end would be declared the victors of the round. A seemingly simple task that would be highly difficult to accomplish with each team going up against fort-five highly qualified men and women who had most likely learned just about every trick and battle style that their comrades had developed in the last year.

Within the colony, in the basement level underneath a garage that had a rather enlarged height to allow entry of the mobile suits, were three green Zaku-I's that belonged to the team of Dozle Zabi, Chalia Bull, and Steiner Hardy. The two older officers had served Dozle highly during the past years as his top lieutenants within the hierarchy of both martial command and social-relations within the rest of the Wing. While there existed a saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks", it didn't at all apply to both Chalia and Steiner who were natural aces at mobile suit warfare, taking it upon themselves to teach the younger pilots who while not far behind, could always use extra room for improvement. Their respective skillsets also complimented each other well with Chalia being highly skilled at long-range warfare, his Newtype skills useful in allowing him to locate and manipulate the enemy into his favorable position; while Steiner was great at close combat with a knack for performing successful assaults behind enemy lines. With both men at his side Dozle's success of victory would be very high.

Speaking of the Zabi Prince, Dozle was currently sitting inside his Zaku-I, the machine silent and on standby, waiting for the games to begin. There was hardly any noise within the tight cockpit, the only ones being the calm current of the air vent as well as the occasional signal alert of the sensors. The monitor inside the cockpit showed a clear image of the surroundings from the point of view of the Zaku monoeye, the only noticeable features of the environment being the dull grey paint of the walls, various pillars placed proportionally throughout the garage, and the two titanic green Zakus that stood several dozen meters in front of and to the right of Dozle respectively. Dozle paid no heed to these surroundings for the moment, instead lounging (or more slightly slouching due to the lack of space in the already enlarged custom cockpit) in his chair with a datapad showing a 2-D image of a map of the battle colony.

Now technically Dozle was not cheating in viewing information about the battle colony before the war games took place, as everyone had equal access to maps of the colony before the fighting took place, not to mention that with today's Battle Royale mode there was a high randomness in the layout of the allowed battlefield which would change in space and precise area with each round. _However_ , using his rank and privilege as a prince of Zeon, Dozle did manage to get extensive data logs concerning previous war games that took place in Battle Colony Three with highly detailed information on the proceedings of the engagements, the strategies used by each team, commentary and analysis on the environment, and post-battle writings on what could have been done differently. An abuse of power to be sure, but neither Dozle nor his co-commander Ramba Ral had ever explicitly stated that anyone could independently gain access on information of the colony before they would begin the games.

 _'It's not really unfair if what we're simulating is a scenario where a unit is thrown into battle in a territory with little intelligence while the enemy has high info on their home turf. I'd probably bet 10 creds that Ral has done the same thing, and some of the other pilots if they somehow managed to gain access.'_ Thought Dozle.

Dozle's planning was interrupted when he received an alert on his cockpit display, telling him that it was five minutes until the beginning of the war games. Putting away the datapad in a small compartment in his seat, Dozle began to perform final checks on the status of his cockpit, at the same time turning on the comms to communicate with both Chalia and Steiner. The Minovsky density for the day was 15%, so besides the occasional interruption in long-range communications as well as some possible miscalculations in the auto-aiming of the Zaku, communications should be nominally intact.

"Lieutenant Bull, Captain Hardy; are you two set to go?"

"Roger!" Both men replied, assuring Dozle that there were no issues with their cockpits.

"Splendid. Before we receive data on the mapping for this round, any suggestions as to what strategy we should implement today?" Asked Dozle. In the Academy Dozle had it drilled into him that a good commanding officer should always seek the advice and input of their subordinates before making a final decision. While Dozle was confident enough in his strategic and tactical capabilities, it never hurt to have others bring attention to scenarios that he may have overlooked or potential flaws that he did not think of.

"Personally Captain, I would prefer if we let the other teams wear each other down and avoid as much fighting as possible until we're down to the last groups, unless of course any opportunities for a well placed ambush or two shall arise. There's no point in trying to eliminate everyone else when we can let them do the job for us, not to mention saving our ammunition and any possible damage to the Zaku." Chalia advocated. Dozle nodded in agreement, it wasn't cowardice if non-participation allowed the enemy to deal damage to themselves in the process. While it would be an entirely different story if this were a two-sided battle, the very near free for all nature of the Battle Royale ensured that a team could potentially sit out for almost the entire round and claim victory in the end.

"While I do agree with Lieutenant Bull, I would also prefer if we make our way to the centerpoint of the map first, or try to be within bounds as much as possible depending on our location. If we're lucky enough we can eliminate whoever gets to the center first and just wait for the stragglers to come to us. I shall admit though that it will force us to be more active throughout the battle." Said Steiner.

Dozle nodded, agreeing with the opinions of both of his subordinates. "They both sound like good plans, we'll just have to wait and see where we are placed on the map in order to determine a final strategy."

"Sir!" Both officers said in affirment, cutting off their feeds to attend to their Zakus in preparation for the start of the match, while Dozle did the same. Having become well accustomed to the design and function of the Zaku in his months piloting the machine, Dozle was able to finish his pilot checks well over a minute before the match started. When the clock struck zero, Dozle pulled up the colony map data on the round that was transmitted to all participating teams, revealing their position.

 _'Not bad, could be better but it's a decent starting point.'_ Thought Dozle. While Dozle and his team were out of range of the first battle ring, with a good majority of the ring encompassing land strip three, while Dozle was on land strip two, their present location was only slightly over three kilometers away from the intracolony bridge that led to the third strip, with the first ring covering half of the bridge. If they traveled at a comfortable speed, they could easily travel to within the battle zone within the first couple of minutes, and make their way to the center. Having studied the map of the colony that he could form a near perfect recollection by memory, Dozle used his highly developed sense of tactics and strategy to come up with a plan in minutes.

Dozle turned on the commlink and spoke to his subordinates, "Lieutenant Bull, Captain Hardy, here is how we will proceed. First off we shall perform a perimeter sweep of the nearby area within a four squared kilometer radius in order to identify and eliminate any targets within the nearby area. As soon as this goal is accomplished we shall make our way across the bridge on foot to the third land strip, where on the other side we shall set up an ambush position for approaching units after clearing the area. Once half of the time for the first phase of the battle has been used up, we shall gradually make our way towards the center of the battle zone and set up a defense, using a king of the hill strategy so to speak. There we shall eliminate the remaining opposition. Along the way we'll most likely make some small detours to either escape the enemy or deliver an advantageous assault if the opportunity arises. Any questions?"

"No sir!" Both men said.

"Good, let's move out!"

Simultaneously all three machines roared to life, the monoeyes emitting their signature violet glare, while the machines slowly limbered their way to the exit of the garage, their giant masses causing the very ground to quake beneath them. When they exited, the hunt began.

As ordered by Dozle, the squad began to slowly fan out and search the perimeter of their surroundings to clear any enemy combatants that were within range. With how Dozle had set up the battle royale, the concentration of Zakus within any given area would be completely randomized. In some districts of the colony there would be absolutely no mobile suits. In some, an entire team could be isolated with any enemy units being kilometers away. And in others, multiple units could be crowded together in an area that was less than a kilometer. With these settings in mind, caution was first and foremost. To assume that the enemy would be nowhere near was to receive a death sentence by ambush.

Slowly, the Zakus marched on the streets, all three Zakus within the formation not straying more than eighty meters apart. While it could be dangerous for an ambush, Dozle had trained all of his men to spread out instantly at the sign of an enemy attack, thus they could separate with ease and reorganize themselves to meet an ambush. With how the formation was set up, Steiner was at the front, while Dozle took command at the middle, and Chalia was in the back for long-range with his sniper rifle. "Steiner, quickly scout out the middle of the area while Chalia and I continue on the perimeter, stay within the center until we move out or make contact."

"Yes sir." Chalia's Zaku picked up speed and diverged from Dozle and Chalia's at an intersection to go towards the center of the search area that had been set up by Dozle. Dozle and Chalia continued on for the next minute, not encountering any signs of the enemy, and neither did Steiner due to the lack of a response on the comms. From the audio sensors of the Zaku, Dozle could pick up some noises from what sounded like a battle, but the sound was too faint and the lack of a radar blip meant that the Minovsky density, while small, was concentrated enough to prevent long-range detection.

When Dozle's Zaku was about to move in front of what appeared to be an apartment complex, his contact link went up, meaning that Chalia was initiating a conversation with him. "Commander, my senses are acting up, I think I'm picking up a unit down the road to the left of this complex." With Chalia's Newtype powers coming in handy more than once before, Dozle took his subordinates intuition as serious as if he was reading off the radar, even though Dozle's radar didn't go off.

"Can you tell how far away they are?"

"A little more than a klick I would say. It definitely feels like a straight path from this road though. However, I'm afraid if we move in any closer then there's a good chance they'll detect us on radar."

Dozle put his right hand up from the controls to his helmet, trying to come up with a solution. After a small amount of contemplation, he talked with Chalia. "Can you hit them with a no-scope?" Dozle asked. t sounded ridiculous but in actuality Chalia had been able to pull off the feat more than once with his rifle, even landing a kill at one time.

"Maybe, it'll probably be 50/50 at best. Doubt I'll get any kills."

"That's all I need." Said Dozle, he opened up the comms with Steiner, hoping that the Minovsky density was enough that they couldn't intercept communications this closely. "Steiner, Chalia is detecting a unit at what appears to be south of Road 38, a little more than a klick from our position. Move along the side streets alongside concrete street, and try to intercept them at this location here." Dozle said, transmitting a waypoint at what was a kilometer and a half down the road, hopefully enough breathing space from the other unit. "You'll probably get their actual positions once you get close enough. Try to hit them from the rear while Chalia and I attack from the front. If you encounter other units, do not engage and report back to us. We'll regroup and head across the bridge as originally planned. Copy?"

"I copy Commander." Said Steiner. In the distance Steiner turned on his vernier thrusters and made slight pushes that while no enough to fly above the skyline, would allow him to traverse a large amount of distance in a short time to catch up."

"Chalia, wait until they show up on the radar, and when they do hit them with the rifle, while I will advance and engage with grenades. You provide support until Steiner arrives."

"Understood." Said Chalia. The older pilot moved his Zaku in front of Dozle, while Dozle stepped back and readied one of his frag and smoke grenades to act upon Chalia's attack. The two Zakus waited for several seconds, then the moment of action arrived when the radar lit up with three contacts.

Moving swiftly as ordered, Chalia pushed his thrusters so that he could make a short jump in the air to cross the road to the other set of buildings. As he was mid-air, he quickly lined up his sniper rifle without seeing a clear target, relying solely on his Newtype intuition. When Chalia felt the moment was best, he fired his 160 mm sniper rifle. A shell which contained highly condensed paint was released, going forward at the speed of a kilometer a second, the round hit a mark as it "penetrated" the right arm of the front Zaku, making it useless with the programming of the war games. Before the enemy Zakus could fire back, Chalia landed safely on the other side of the road, momentarily free from returning fire.

Dozle then quickly moved his Zaku into the road, and launched his grenades unto the unit. First was the smoke grenade which was launched about 400 meters in front of Dozle to provide some approaching cover. Three seconds after the smoke grenade was released, Dozle launched his frag grenade after getting information on the position of the enemy Zakus. The frag quickly sped through the air, landing in the the rear of the Zaku contingent. When it "exploded" the force damaged the vernier jets and rear of the rearmost Zaku, but otherwise it was mostly operational.

While the lead Zaku was hollering orders, Dozle kicked ran as fast as the Zaku could towards the enemy. He pulled up his 105mm machine gun and readied it to be fired. Fortunately for Dozle, thanks to the smoke, his approaching vector was mostly unknown to the pilots, allowing him to reach to the front Zaku, that Chalia hit, grabbing its disabled arm, and pulling the Zaku in front of him so that Dozle could use it as a living shield. With his right arm free, Dozle positioned his rifle to fire on the middle Zaku, allowing him to scorch several rounds on the Zaku. The two Zakus enemy Zakus in the back did their best to retreat, also positioning their weapons to try to hit Dozle, but they were unable to hit him due to fear of killing their comrade.

In the arms of Dozle's Zaku, the enemy unit was wailing its arm around and trying its best to make contact with Dozle and push him off. Through the contact link Dozle could hear a heavy amount of swearing from the other pilot. With his Zaku's grip loosening and Dozle coming into danger of a melee attack, Dozle put his rifle back in its hold in the back of his mobile suit. Dozle let go of his grip by pushing the enemy out of his arms, and then used his thrusters to moved several meters backwards so he could have enough space to not get into an immediate counter. The left arm of Dozle's Zaku reached for the heat katana, as Dozle figured it would be best for him to finish this off with a melee attack. However before Dozle could pull out his sword, a loud shot rang through the air, and a sniper round hit the Zaku in the center of its cockpit, "killing" the pilot. The monoeye of Dozle's Zaku looked towards the rear, only to find Chalia in place with his sniper rifle, having taken up position while Dozle was distracting the other Zakus to make a proper shot.

Dozle smiled at the success of his subordinate. "Great kill Chalia. Cover me while I move in to finish them off." Figuring that trying to do combat in range would give him a better chance of being killed, Dozle decided to opt for a melee strike. His Zaku's left hand grabbed the katana like it was originally attending to, and held the sword with its blade pointing downward. Moving his Zaku's body so that the shield on his right shoulder would take the blunt of any rounds, Dozle had his Zaku sprint into action. The Zaku ran across the road, while also activating its vernier thrusters to zig-zag across the road to prevent the enemy from gaining a straight target. The enemy Zakus tried their best to shoot Dozle down, but unfortunately for them his maneuverability prevented any kill shots from making contact, although they did manage to have several rounds make scraping hit on the more protected areas around the torso and chest of the Zaku.

Realizing that Dozle was coming in for a melee kill, the front most Zaku grabbed a hold of its heat hawk and tried to meet Dozle's charge head on, while the rear Zaku kept firing its rifle to provide ranged support. Unfortunately for the Zaku with the heat hawk, Chalia was still providing strong coverage and he was doing his best to hit the Zaku before it could make contact with Zaku. While no kill shots made contact, the middle Zaku did take on some moderate damage and was forced to move around to evade fire, not being able to properly prepare for Dozle's strike. Dozle finally reached his opponent and made contact, his katana made a downward slash, which was just barely met by the heat hawk in a parry. Dozle had forseen this however, and in his Zaku's right hand was a frag. Dozle dropped the frag and leaned his Zaku back and turned his thrusters on to glide backwards. While Dozle took on some light damage from the rear Zaku, his goal was successful as the middle Zaku which was still intent on meeting Dozle in melee, moved forward with its heat hawk raised, not noticing the frag until it was too late. The frag then exploded in front of the Zaku, delivering heavy damage on the legs which caused the Zaku to fall back. Once the Zaku was falling, Dozle killed his thrusters and ran forward with his katana in hand. Holding the katana with both hands of his Zaku, Dozle delivered a killing blow to the cockpit.

This strike left Dozle open to an attack by the last enemy Zaku, allowing it to position its rifle at Dozle. It would've delivered a killing blow to Dozle had it not been for the timely intervention of Steiner, who had flied through the air with his thrusters to the battlefield thanks to instructions from Chalia, and upon spotting the rear Zaku locked onto it with his bazooka, and fired, "killing the last of the unit.

Seeing that Steiner had taken the last of the enemy, Dozle positioned his heat katana back on the back of his Zaku. "Nice save Steiner. You really saved my ass back there." Said Dozle, increasing a heavy breath thanks to the stress of the battle having momentarily drifted away.

"Your welcome Commander. I just wished that I had arrived here sooner. It was both you and the Lieutenant who did most of the heavy lifting. By the way I didn't detect a single enemy unit on my way over here, but with the noise we made that may soon change." Steiner said.

Dozle was well aware that the man was right. While the battle lasted a little more than two minutes, it was more than plenty of time for any enemy units to catch up and finish them off. There were more than likely several squads out there that were still unscathed. And were Dozle's squad to enter into battle with them, while they could most likely pull off a victory, the light damage that Dozle had taken with his Zaku at 11% damage output put them in a slight disadvantage.

"You're right. While it is risky, I suggest we abandon our sweep around the perimeter and assume that this was the only unit in the area. We'll head toward the third Bridge and try to set up an ambush for any units struggling to get across." Dozle looked at the timer for the remaining zone before it became a deadland where they couldn't do battle. They had spent roughly six minutes so far and they had fourteen left before the first wave hit. Plenty of time to reach the bridge. "Let's try to avoid the enemy until we cross the bridge and if there is a sizable presence across then we'll find another route. I don't want to take on another battle before we reach the third strip unless necessary. Once the first wave is finished, we'll start to gradually head towards the center. Is that understood?"

"Roger!" Both men replied.

"Alright then, let's move out!"

 **A/N: Thus another chapter which I should've updated months ago is done. In today's installment, we see the men and women of the 01st MS Wing complete their trials while also bonding over booze and fun. For now Dozle is going to go back to the Zabis so there will be more regular appearances of him in the future, while the rest of the pilots will mostly stay in the background with the occasional cameo until the final leadup to the war begins. At first I wanted to keep the chapter into one comprehensive update, however I decided to complete it in two parts as the party scene took up a large amount of space in the first half, and if I completed the rest of the battle which is a heavy amount of content, it would be well over 20K words which would delay the update heavily, and I've kept you waiting long enough. So the rest of the battle will be finished in the next update, and with my semester ending this week I'll try to reach a goal by Sunday, no promises this time though. Please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter as a whole as its one of my first large attempts to do both a big social chapter, as well as a battle chapter, with the latter being a writing skill that I will really need to improve for the eventual war.**

 **Also in terms of Gundam news, big things have been happening since I was gone with the 40th anniversary coming up, Hathaway's Flash, more Thunderbolt volumes, Build Divers, and Narrative. I'm highly excited for Narrative as from what I've seen of the preview on Youtube, it looks to have the potential to become the greatest of all the Gundam movies, if not Top 10 stories, and I think there will be a lot of huge portions of it that will be incorporated into the greater story of the fic. Will have to wait and see how it turns out once there's an official release.**

 **Also I've been getting into Gunpla heavily lately, which has partly spurred on my muse to complete the needed update. For those of you who are fans of Gundam but don't build gunpla, I highly recommend that you buy a set and try it out as kit building is an incredible amount of fun and once you have completed your favorite MS, it is highly rewarding to gaze upon what you've built through your own efforts. So far I have been the High Grade After Colony Leo (my first suit), High Grade Universal Century Gelgoog Marine, and High Grade Universal Century Zaku-II Kai. For beginners the Leo is an excellent suit to start off as it doesn't have a high amount of parts, is relatively small and not too detail oriented, and is pretty cheap at just about twelve dollars. As for the Gelgoog Marine and Zaku-II Kai, I promise that both suits will be making an appearance later in the story, with a certain Zaku-II Kai pilot and hamburger enthusiast also showing up later down the line.**

 **Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more.**


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